


El Tritón

by EsmerianDreamer



Series: Hetalian Fairytales [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24625261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsmerianDreamer/pseuds/EsmerianDreamer
Summary: A Little Mermaid AU, Spamerica edition. Inspired by the Studio 100 musical and a little dash of Disney.Enjoy.
Relationships: America/Spain (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia)
Series: Hetalian Fairytales [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582621
Comments: 27
Kudos: 30





	1. The shipwreck

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all thought I only shipped Spamano? GUESS AGAIN I AM A MULTISHIPPER HAHA-

The sea was calm. A gentle breeze ruffled Alfred's hair as he stood at the helm of the ship, gazing over the water. It had been a long 7 weeks at sea. But after these long weeks, the royal ship did bring quite some gold from the colonies. 

"Your highness." 

Alfred turned with a faint smile. Raj, one of the court's finest advisors, walked over to him, back straight and proper. Alfred had basically grown up with the Indian man standing off to his or his father's side, always ready with advice or calm comments. Even if Raj was at first glance a rather mature and calculated man, Alfred had fond memories of him playfully chasing him and his younger brother Matthew around the castle halls, or teaching the princes a song in his native language. 

"Raj, you know that on this ship, I'm not prince Alfred, I'm captain Alfred." The prince teased, lightly hitting the other in the side with his elbow. Raj just let out a faint 'umpf' at the light punch, the corners of his mouth twitching upward into a smile. 

"Very well, captain." Raj's voice was a little teasing too. Alfred rolled his eyes in amusement and looked back over the water. "Anything to report, Raj?" 

"Not much. Gilbert and Francis patched the hole below deck, and the Vargas twins told me the sails are in tip-top shape." 

"Anything from Eire?" Alfred mused. 

"No, sir. According to our steering man it's smooth sailing until we get back home." 

"Wonderful." Alfred smiled, staring out at the horizon. "I'll be glad to be home again, I kinda missed the stiffness of court. Is that weird?" 

"Perhaps a little," Raj chuckled. "But I'll be glad to have sturdy ground beneath my feet again. And to eat some proper food." 

"Ivan does his best with what he has stocked." Alfred mused. "But I agree, I look forward to dishes that are not only potatoes and fish." 

They both just chuckled, watching the water. Alfred could hear Gilbert and Francis scrubbing the deck, singing some sort of sea shanty. He closed his eyes and smiled a bit. 

A sudden splash from below made him look. For a brief moment, he was certain he could see a face, staring up at him from the water. He yelped in surprise, running along the side of the boat to try and spot it again. 

"Your highness, what's the matter?" Raj asked, rushing after him. Alfred stared at the water, shaking his head. "Sorry, I just.. I thought I saw someone in the water." 

"Someone in the water, huh? Was it a pretty face that made you run like that?~" Gilbert grinned, leaning on his mop. "A pretty mermaid?~" Francis teased, bursting into laughter. 

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, you two, it could've been someone who was drowning." Alfred huffed, looking back at the water. He was so certain he'd seen something.. 

"Prince Alfred!" Eire suddenly called from behind the wheel, looking out at the horizon. 

"Captain Alfred, Eire!" 

"Oh for fuck's sake- _Captain_ Alfred then! Storm ahead!" The Irishman called back. 

Alfred looked at the horizon as well, and felt his stomach drop. Those stormclouds weren't there a few minutes ago, and they were rolling in very fast, faster than possible. It was like they'd come out of nowhere. Almost like... magic. 

He shook himself out of his stupor and quickly began yelling commands. They'd have to avoid it, even if that meant they would be out at sea longer. Within seconds, chaos had erupted on board as the crew tried their best to avoid the angry storm. 

The moment the wind and rain caught up to them, Alfred was almost certain that there was no escaping this. Lightning crashed around them, the waves threw the boat around like it was a toy. The crew soon began to realize the same thing, rushing to quickly jump overboard before the ship would sink. 

Alfred was tossed to his knees, only managing to not smack his face into the deck thanks to Raj grabbing hold on him. He clung to his friend's coat, looking up at him with determination before pushing him to the side of the boat. 

"Raj, you need to jump too, it's the only way you'll survive!" 

"I'm not leaving you, your highness!" 

"Raj, for crying out loud, that's an order! Save yourself, you idiot!" Alfred yelled. The man stared at him in surprise, his expression turning pained as he nodded. "Farewell, Alfred." Raj whispered before he too jumped overboard. 

Alfred watched him go, then looked around at his sinking ship. 'A captain goes down with his ship', that was the rule, wasn't it? Well, time to honor it. 

* * *

Deep down in the depts of the ocean, the last bits of magic crackled away from the flame in the bubble. A smirk spread across the face of the sea warlock. Yet another ship had sunk, had been sacrificed to the sea. 

"Must you do this, father?" 

He turned to his son, sitting there, moping and lightly toying with his fins like a child. 

"Of course I must, Gillen, how else am I to find you a mate?" 

"I don't want someone from the land, Vatti." Gillen pouted, crossing his arms. "They're just so.. So.. I don't know..." 

"They are powerful creatures, you know. Marry one, and you are both of sea and land. Especially if you marry the one I picked, my boy. He's a prince. You could rule both land and sea. Isn't that a great future for my son?~" 

"But I-!" 

They were both interrupted by two people hastily swimming into the lair. The two sharkmen hastily saluted, grinning brightly and showing off their fangs. "Mr. William sir~" Flavio mused. 

"Those crew members are floating around in the sea now, we saw them flailing around not too long ago." Luciano purred. "Another fantastic job, as always~" 

"The job's not yet done, boys. We'll have to get rid of those drowning idiots before we can grab that prince." William huffed, turning to the eternal flame floating in the bubble. He moved his hands around it, soon seeing the images dancing on the bubble's surface. 

Gillen watched his father work his magic, biting his lip as he watched how the humans in the images contorted, changed, began to sink to the bottom. He frowned at how the transformation just seemed.. Wrong. Not fully changed, a strange mix of human and sea creature. 

The flame was losing its magic. His father had said it needed new magic, magic from the land. A son of the sea warlock marrying one of the land would give it its powers back. No matter if Gillen wanted it or not. 

Eventually, William lowered his hands, sighing. "There we go. Now, my dear boy, it's time to find your prince." 

* * *

The giant vessel had finally reached the bottom by now. For a long moment, the sound of it hitting the bottom was the only thing echoing through the water, sand settling down. 

A pair of green eyes watched it for a moment, before their owner came out of his hiding spot. Careful, Toni swam over to the wreck, looking it over. He glanced back at the rocks and smiled. 

"It's alright, Rizada, come on out. It's safe." 

A porpoise peeked out from behind the rocks, then swam over, rubbing along her friend's green tail. Toni stroked along her back as she did. "Did you see that, Rizza? William made another ship sink, and turned the crew into sea creatures. I wonder why he keeps doing that, it seems horrible to be turned into something against your will. Papa says he's just evil, so I guess that explains it." 

Rizza chattered a bit in response, poking around the sunken ship. Toni followed her for a bit, looking at the treasures that had sunk along with the ship, toying around with some of them. A thought suddenly came to mind. 

"You know, Rizza? As much as being turned into something else sounds scary, I'd love to be a human. It sounds much more exciting on land. And to be honest, it feels more like home above the water than under it. Does that make sense?" 

The porpoise chattered a bit in response. Toni smiled faintly. "I know it sounds weird. And papa would never understand." 

He glanced at the front of the sunken ship, swimming over to the statue on the front. It was a human man with large wings, holding a sword. Toni grinned, mimicking its powerful pose. 

"Ah, Rizza, I wish I was this guy~ Then I'd have wings to soar high above the land! And I'd have legs to run around and dance and jump and-!~" 

He was cut off by loud thumping on one of the ship's windows. Confused, he swam over, only to see a hand weakly thump one last time before it slid down. 

Someone was still on board, probably surviving due to a sealed door and water trickling in. Toni quickly swam inside, looking for the human. Once he broke open the door to the room and saw the human, he realized just who it was. It was the prince, that handsome man he saw on deck. He was still alive! 

But not for long if he stayed there. He quickly grabbed the man, racing out the ship and towards the surface. He prayed he wasn't too late. 

Once he broke the surface, Toni looked around frantically, holding the prince's head above water as he squinted his eyes at the heavy rain, trying to use what little light there was to find some place safe. There! There was a beach up ahead, he just had to hurry. 

After a frantic swim, he had finally brought the prince to the shore. Quickly, he listened for a heartbeat and breathing, and was relieved to hear both. Carefully, he stroked the prince's face. 

The prince was so beautiful up close. The sun had given his skin a darker shine, while his hair was still as vibrant as sunlight. Toni couldn't help but run his fingers through it. Even when wet, the prince's hair was so.. soft. 

He smiled, tracing the human's jaw, running his thumb over his lips, jolting back lightly when the man's lips parted in response. Toni blushed a bit, feeling the urge to lean down and kiss those lips, but he held back for now. 

What he wouldn't give to be human. Then he could go with the prince, befriend him and maybe grow to love him. He could run and dance just like the humans. If only he could shed this tail and stay here. 

Gently, he hummed a tune, softly singing a lullaby from long ago. Faintly, he noticed the prince's eyes opening a bit, watching him through a fog of confusion. He smiled. "It's alright... You're safe now." 

"Hey!" 

Toni jolted back, seeing figures with lights in their hands rushing over. He quickly scooted back into the water. It was bad enough one human kind of saw him, father would never forgive him if more did. He ignored the confused noise of protest from the prince, and dove back underwater. 

Alfred had rolled onto his side, coughing and trying to sit up, disorientated and confused. Light shone in his face, lights being held by some servants he recognized. Hands helped him sit up, words were thrown at him. Words like 'Thank God', 'storm', and 'no survivors'. 

His stomach reared as he threw up some seawater. His back was rubbed, he recognized his brother's face as he was held up. Matthew had never looked this worried; he shouldn't be this worried, that was his job as the older brother, right? 

Matthew was clearly trying to talk to him, repeating a single sentence, over and over and over. It took a moment for his brain to recognize the words, to understand the words 'What happened?'. Still disorientated, Alfred glanced back at the water. 

He remembered... Sinking. Pounding on the glass of his window. Water rising. A pair of hands taking hold of him, a warm body carrying him up to the surface. His face being stroked. A voice, singing to him. Such a beautiful voice, like an angel from heaven itself. 

"Someone... Someone saved me." 


	2. Witchcraft!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW for this chapter: Kinda body horror like?
> 
> (Please excuse any wrong translations, Google Translate is the one doing them-)

When Ivan woke up, his head was absolutely pounding. There was a really bad taste of salt in his mouth, most likely from ingesting so much seawater. He groaned, cursing under his breath as he held his head, sitting up and trying to figure out where the hell he had ended up.

The first thing he noticed, was lots of sand. Had he washed up somewhere? He hoped he'd washed up on the kingdom's shores, not on some island nearby. He wasn't looking forward to surviving on the land alone, again.

The land here looked... Strange and big. He didn't recognize it. Ivan tried to stand up, but to his horror, he could not feel his legs. Before he could look down to check if he had broken something, he heard something nearby.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He called out, a bit on guard, looking around for a stick or something, just in case. For a moment, only silence answered him.

"Ivan, is that you?"

Ivan let out a sigh of relief as he tried to crawl towards the voice of Eire. "Eire!  Слава богу ! (Thank God!) I thought we were all done for! It's me, Ivan, I think I broke my legs or something, because I can't-"

He promptly froze as he came face to face to what had called back to him with Eire's voice. At first glance, it seemed to be a man, only with large crab-pinchers, and a face like a crab and human were merged and didn't come out pretty. Patches of human flesh and a crab endoskeleton covered the entire creature's skin, like an  abomination from hell.

Ivan let out a scream and scrambled back, at the same time that the creature did at the sight of him. The Russian man managed to grab some sort of stick, holding it out in front of him like a weapon. " Останься ,  демон ! (Stay back, demon!)" He yelled, shaking.

The crab demon blinked at him, looking just as scared of him. "...Ivan...?  Is.. Is that really you? What the fuck happened to you? You... You look like a..." It gestured with its pincers at Ivan's legs.

Ivan frowned and looked at where his legs were. He nearly screamed again. Where his legs once were, he now had some sort of... tentacle? No, a tail? Not a fishtail, but some sort of curly appendage, like a seahorse. He quickly took a better look at his arms too, noticing how they had fins on them. Breathing picking up with panic, he felt his face too, feeling scales.

" Ебена мать ...(Holy shit..)" He whispered, looking at the crab creature again. Now that he had gotten over the initial surprise, he recognized the Irishman's face a bit. "Eire,  how.. What..? We're underwater?? How??"

"I have no bloody clue, I just..!" Eire stared down at his pinchers, opening and closing them in disbelief. "I have no idea what the fuck happened."

"I-Is someone there? It's me, Feliciano!" a voice echoed from nearby. "And I'm here too, it's  Lovino ! We can't get up!"

Eire and Ivan looked at each other for a moment, then quickly rushed towards the voices of the cabin boys. It took Ivan a moment to figure out how to work this tail, but after a bit he managed. The two of them soon reached a little clearing. The two large starfish on the seabed did confirm that they were indeed underwater.

"Feliciano,  Lovino , it's Ivan and Eire! We're here, where are you?" Eire called as they both frantically looked around.

"Over here!"

Ivan froze as he realized where the voice had come from. He nudged Eire and pointed at the two starfish. Eire paled, and hesitantly flipped the two starfish over. Their suspicions were confirmed at seeing two familiar faces where normally a starfish's mouth would be.

The four crewmen yelped at the same time. Eire and Ivan just stumbled back in horror, while Feliciano and  Lovino flailed around their appendages. The two brothers seemed to break out into a prayer, to protect themselves from demons.

Ivan carefully went over to them, knowing he looked the least bad right now. "Hey, hey, easy, easy. It's us. I don't know what happened to us all, but it's  still us."

Feliciano just whimpered, but  Lovino stared at Ivan with anger in his eyes. "Why the fuck can't we move?! Don't tell me we turned into some sort of monsters like you two!"

Ivan hissed through his teeth a bit, making a face. "Well... We would be lying if we did... Though, you two don't look so bad.. Starfish aren't that creepy."

This only distressed the two cabin boys more. They began sobbing in confusion, still trying to get up. Eire elbowed Ivan a bit, helping the two cabin boys stand up and sort of balance on their bottom appendages.

"It's going to be alright. We need to find the others, and then we can figure out what happened to us. Perhaps we should split up to try and find them. Ivan,  Lovino , you two go and try to find Gilbert and Francis, then Feliciano and I will try to find the prince and-"

He suddenly fell silent, seeing something coming over to them on some rocks. It was a smaller creature, though not as small as the original animal it was meshed with would be. They recognized the advisor's face, as it seemed like his upper body was just placed on where a shrimp's head would be.

Raj seemed to have finally spotted them, as he screamed in horror and fell off the rock. He tried to back away, then curled up and started praying loudly. Feliciano blinked and carefully wobbled over.

"Raj? Raj, is that you? Mio  dio ,  you.. "

"Ho  gaya ,  raakshas ! (Begone, monster!)" Raj yelled, still trying to back away.  Lovino frowned, not speaking Hindi but still sort of understanding what the man was screaming at them.

"We're not monsters or demons, you idiot. If anything, look at yourself. You look like a fucking shrimp."

The advisor fell silent, and looked down at himself. He screamed again, terrified by the lower half of his body. Again, he  started to pray, this time clearly saying the name ' Ganesha ' multiple times, shaking his head.

The crew kind of watched him for a bit, but eventually Ivan gently shook him by the shoulder. "Raj, easy. I know this is terrifying, but we need to keep our cool."

" T umhaare lie  kahana aasaan hai ! (Easy for you to say!)" Raj snapped, tugging on his own hair. "You don't look like a bloody shrimp! What the fuck happened?!"

"We don't know!" Eire said. "We should've drowned in that storm, but for some reason we're this. I don't know why."

"Oh, I know why!" Raj suddenly growled. "It's all your fault! You sailed us into that storm, you got us cursed!"

"That's not true, and you know it." Ivan tried to hush. But Raj wasn't letting up. " Of course it's true! Why else would the sea have punished us?!"

"The sea didn't punish you." A voice suddenly mused. Everyone quickly turned towards it, startled. There, sort of hidden among the seaweeds, sort of transparent, was a woman. She watched them with pity in her eyes. 

"... Ah.. Who are you, miss?" Feliciano sputtered. She smiled  faintly, swimming closer. This revealed how her lower body seemed to resemble a jellyfish.

"My name is Bella. Please, do not be afraid. I know you are very confused right now, but everything will be alright."

"Do you know what happened to us?"  Lovino asked. Bella nodded. 

"Yes. It was William, the sea warlock. He turned you into sea creatures, just because he could. He did the same to me, and many others. Your crew are the latest victims of his games, it seems."

"So, Francis and Gilbert suffered the same fate?" Eire asked, growing horrified. "And what about our prince..?"

Bella bit her lip, looking saddened. "Well, not everyone suffers this fate. I fear that if they are not here, they must've drowned."

The men swallowed, filled with dread. Had they just lost 3 of their friends? They couldn't even tell their families. They couldn't even tell the king what happened to his  son. Raj pulled himself together, looking at Bella again.

"We should do something about that horrible monster. It's the least we can do to avenge our friends."

Bella chuckled lightly. "Well, feel free to try. But first, I think you all need to have a place to stay while you're like this. Please, follow me, I'll bring you to the city. Our healers can heal any scrapes you have, and you can catch your breath and regain your strengths."

"Did you say city?" Ivan asked as he and Eire helped the two cabin boys follow the woman. Bella nodded and smiled. 

"Of course. The city of Atlantis."

* * *

"Well, he does not have a fever anymore, so he should be alright soon."

"Thank you, Kiku. You're dismissed." Arthur said to the court doctor. The man gave a nod and bowed at the king before leaving the room. Giving a sigh, Arthur sat by his son's bed, watching the young man breathing softly.

What a night this had been. Arthur could still hear Matthew's panicked yelling as he half-carried his brother inside. The servants had carried the prince to the doctor, while Alfred had babbled and protested in his fevered state, most likely the result of being shipwrecked and losing his entire crew.

Arthur stroked his son's hair a bit, giving a sigh as he glanced out the window. He was glad Alfred survived the horrible storm, and he could barely imagine the horrors he'd seen. But he was safe now, that's what mattered.

"...Dad...?"

He looked over at his son again, smiling lightly at seeing him waking up. "You gave us quite the scare there, you know? How are you feeling?"

Alfred blearily looked around. "...What happened..?"

"Your ship sunk in that horrible storm. They found you down at the beach."

Alfred frowned, staring at the ceiling. "...What.. What happened to the  crew..? Raj..? "

Arthur sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "...They did not make it. I'm sorry. We searched the coast, but I'm afraid they were taken by the sea. It's a miracle you survived, if I'm honest."

Alfred still stared at the ceiling, then looked at his father. "...Someone saved me. I know it sounds impossible, but someone saved me. I don't know how, but... I was on the ship, trying to get  out.. And then someone just... grabbed me. I felt someone holding me."

"Could it have been someone of your crew?"

Alfred shook his head. " No.. No, they had all jumped overboard. I commanded them to save themselves. This someone, they... they weren't anyone I recognized. They took me to the beach, they spoke to me, I didn't recognize their voice. They..." He smiled at the memory.  ".. Their voice was beautiful. Like an angel."

"They found you alone, Alfred. Nobody was with you."

"There was someone, I swear to you, father!" Alfred protested, sitting up. "I know I sound crazy, but it's true! There was someone, and they told me everything was alright.  They.. They were humming a song. A lullaby...? Either way, there really was someone there!"

For a moment, the room was silent. Alfred rubbed at his face.  ".. I.. I need to find them. I need to thank them, at least. I owe them my life."

"We'll find them, I promise. Don't worry." Arthur hushed. "What did they look like? We can start a search for them. If they saved my son, they need a big reward. Perhaps even your hand in marriage, if you both wish for it."

Alfred wanted to answer, opening his mouth to start describing his  savior , only to find he could not remember the face that had  spoke soothingly at him. 

"I... I don't remember. I only remember their voice. I could never forget that voice. If I hear their voice... I'll know."

* * *

William pulled his hands away from the bubble, a smirk spreading across his face. That brat Toni might've stolen the most important part of his plan from right under his nose, but this worked out in his favour. Toni longed for land, and now also for the company of that prince. A spell came with a price.

Oh yes, this did work in his favour.


	3. The underwater city

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a heatwave at my place, Imma die-   
> Also it was my birthday yesterday, so yay! Chapter updates to celebrate. ^^

The city was enormous. The men did their best to keep up with Bella, as the beauty of the strange city tried its best to distract them. Feliciano and  Lovino were still being half-carried, while Raj had to do his best using his new little legs to keep up with the half-jellyfish-half-woman.

"How much further?" He panted, scurrying over rocks and decorated stone. Bella chuckled lightly, picking him up as if she pitied him a bit. "Our destination is over there, my good sir." She mused, pointing up ahead.

Now that Raj was raised a bit higher, he could see the impressive palace up ahead. Bella chuckled again at his awed expression. "The king will help you. He's given all who have been victims to William's tricks shelter here, in exchange for their services as workers. He'll allow you to stay here until things can be fixed."

They soon went inside. The inside of the castle was even more impressive than the outside; the walls decorated with gorgeous shells and pearls, seaweed in hundreds of colours weaved around pillars, and sea creatures swimming around.

Most of the creatures paid them no mind as Bella led them further. Most of them were fish or merfolk, but some were like them, half human and half something else. The hybrids seemed the ones to look at them with a bit of pity.

"Bella!"

A woman swam over to them, her lower half resembling an octopus. She hugged onto their guide, letting out a sigh. "Don't just float off like that again, you scared me!"

"Sorry Sanne, I guess I had a moment of jellyfish brain again. But the good news  is that I found some new people." Bella mused, gesturing at the 5 men behind her. Sanne looked them over and sighed.

"Again, huh? This is getting ridiculous. C'mon you, let's get you fixed up with something to eat. You're not the only ones today, so I guess you won't be lonely."

She gestured them to follow her to another room. This room seemed to be some sort of dining room.

"Wait here, make yourself at home. I'll go and get you guys something to eat." Sanne mused, before swimming off. Eire let out a sigh, helping Ivan bring the twins to some shells that looked like they were used as seating.

"Well, at least we'll be safe here. Go on and sit down for now."

Feliciano and  Lovino let out a soft "Grazie" as they sat on the shells, careful not to flop back onto their backs. This was rather difficult as the shells suddenly moved.

"Get off! We're not seats!" A familiar voice snapped as the shells flipped open, knocking the starfish off. Eire and Ivan stepped back in horror as seeing what was in the shells.

Ivan had prepared oysters and clams before. He'd even prepared the rather weird and phallic looking shellfish that was a geoduck. He knew shellfish looked rather weird and disgusting. But not as weird and disgusting as seeing their two missing crewmembers' faces in the strange slimy forms.

"Gilbert? Francis?"

Francis's face lit up as he tried to move his strange new body up. "Ivan! Am I glad to see you, mon  ami ! Oh, mon  dieu , you all look so horrible! That bastard of a warlock got you too, didn't he?"

Ivan  meekly nodded as he helped Feliciano up. Gilbert's face guiltily looked at the horrified cabin boy. "Sorry  Feli . Some idiots have pulled this stunt a few times before. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"I-It's alright. I'm glad you two are okay." Feliciano said, still trembling a bit. Francis made a face.

"Non, we are not okay. Look at me, I'm slimy and ugly!"

"Technically, it's mucus." Eire pointed out, helping Lovino.

"Whatever!" Francis wailed. Raj just sighed. "Well, that makes 7 of us. Now all we need to do is find our pr-"

He was cut off by Sanne swimming back into the room with a platter of food, and the sound of some sort of trumpets. Sanne looked at the door and smiled. "The king's come to greet you."

Everyone sat up straight as an older merman swam in. He was dressed in some sort of sea flora toga, pearls and jewels decorating it. On his head was a coral crown, twisted and clearly still thriving, as the anemones and other plant-like creatures on it happily swayed in the water.

The king smiled as the 7 crewmembers bowed to the best of their ability. "Welcome. I apologize for what has happened to you. Hopefully, you will enjoy your stay here until this problem is solved."

"Thank you very much, your majesty. My name is Raj." Raj said, clasping his pinchers together. "I hope it is not too bold to ask, but have you found another human like us today, by any chance? He's blonde, with short hair, and blue eyes. Most likely he was wearing rather fancy clothing."

The king thought for a moment. "I apologize, but you 7 seem to be the only ones who arrived today." He gave them a sad smile. "Sorry. I wish I could say otherwise.  But, I have been rather busy today, so it might be possible your friend has slipped by me while I was preparing for my son's birthday party. So, don't lose hope yet."

The men just sighed and nodded, trying to push down the feeling of dread. Feliciano smiled a bit, trying to lighten the mood. "It's your son's birthday today? Congratulations."

The king smiled too. "Ah, yes. My boy is turning 23 today. A momentous day. If you like, you all can come too, you're more than welcome."

"That's very kind of you, your majesty." Eire smiled. "We would be honored."

"Wonderful! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the preparations. I hope to see you soon." The king mused, leaving the room again.

The men bowed as he left. "He seems nice." Feliciano mused once they were alone. "And we got invited to a party!  Fun right? Maybe they have nice food~"

"Only you think of food during this,  stupido ."  Lovino huffed with a roll of his eyes. Feliciano just made a shrugging motion. "Well, I'm trying to be positive."

"And that's the best we can do now." Raj said, turning to the crew. "C'mon. Let's go to a party then."

* * *

The little cave was Toni's favourite place. Over the years, he'd collected all sorts of trinkets and things from sunken ships, displayed them here when nobody could find them. He'd found all sorts of things, and often wondered what they were used for.

These strange metal sticks with four prongs, what were they used for? He'd figured they were perhaps for hairstyling at first, but once one got stuck in his curls, he quickly ditched the idea. 

And those brittle transparent cups, what was that material? It was sharp when it broke. That little box there that had a key in it, it made music if he twisted the key.

It was all so interesting, and Toni couldn't deny the feeling of... nostalgia whenever he held these objects. Like he'd seen them before. But he never knew where.

Right now, he sat in the sand, playing with something he'd found in the prince's ship. It was circular, with an arrow in the middle. If he moved it, the arrow turned, pointing in a direction. 

The 4 symbols around the edge he recognized, he'd seen them in a book that wasn't completely ruined. And he  sort of knew how to pronounce them. There was an N, then an E, then a S, and a W. But what it  meant, he had no idea.

Rizada gently chattered at him, nosing at the object. Toni smiled. "Hey now, careful. You'll break it." He chided, turning the object around in his hands. There were symbols engraved in the golden back too. Some sort of animal, with sharp teeth. And what seemed like a name. Toni tried his best to decipher the symbols, the letters.

"H...R...H.." He trailed the letters with his fingers. " Pri.. Prince.. A. ..Alf ... Alfr ... Alfred." He lit up. "H.R.H Prince Alfred."

Toni looked at  Rizada with a smile. "I know his name,  Rizada ! His name is either H.R.H. or Alfred! I think Alfred is right though, H.R.H doesn't sound like a human name, now does it?"

Rizada just chattered in response, nuzzling against him. Toni chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, still looking at the object. "...Alfred. What a pretty name. Oh, could you imagine if I met him again, became friends? Maybe I could have his title of H.R.H. too if we marry!~"

The porpoise blew a little bit of bubbles, making him chuckle. "Alright, yes, yes, I might be going a bit too fast there. But he was so handsome,  Rizza.. But you're right, perhaps I should start with befriending him. Perhaps he can tell me what all these treasures are, huh? Oh, and I could meet his family, and-"

He cut himself off when he realized. "Oh, shoot, I promised father to be back home by now! C'mon, let's hurry home, quick." Toni swam towards the entrance of the cave to seal it back up.  Rizada helped to push the boulder back in place. Once it was, she followed her friend as they raced back to the city.

* * *

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, your majesty, everyone is in their places."

"Good, good. Now we wait."

Eire peered out of their hiding spot. The entire court had gathered in a large room and hid, in wait for the prince. They waited, and waited. Lovino let out a sigh.

"Is that prince even coming?" He mumbled, earning himself accusing hushing sounds from the others. He rolled his eyes. "Well, it's taking long."

"Patience,  fratello ." Feliciano whispered. "He'll be here, I'm sure."

Lovino just sighed and nodded, waiting. After a while, he seemed ready to complain again, but then someone swam into the room. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the king's signal.

The merman who swam in must've been the prince, judging from the pretty jewellery around his arms and green tail. It seemed like he was trying to sneak in, looking around carefully. A porpoise swam by him side, softly clicking as she followed him.

Suddenly, the signal was given, and everyone popped out of their hiding places with a loud "Surprise!" The merman gave a yelp as everyone rushed out, clutching his chest in surprise. Slowly, he smiled.

" Ah.. T-thank you." He chuckled nervously. His expression remained nervously happy as the king hugged him and patted his back in congratulations. The  7 man crew watched the court go and congratulate the prince, and all felt a bit of a sting in their chests. It hadn't been that long since they had been at a party for their prince.

But, no matter. Once the party calmed down a bit, they made their way over as best they could to congratulate the prince. The merman had been shaking hands with people, smiling politely, but now sat to the side as the party went on around him. Seeing the new faces, he gave them the same sad smile as all the others did. Raj, not wanting to be pitied by everyone anymore, stepped forward to bow at the prince.

"Your highness. Congratulations."

"Thank you very much, mister...?" The prince trailed off in that polite way of asking for someone's name without asking the question.

"Oh, my name is Raj, your highness. Raj Kumar."

"I like your name." The prince smiled, putting the shell he was messing with away. "It's like Raajakumar. That means 'prince'." He mused, lightly rocking back and forth.

Raj blinked and smiled. "Why yes, it does. You speak Hindi, your highness?"

The prince began to blush a bit, smiling still. "Well, no, but I can read. I saw that word in a book once. So, it's a Hindi word? Is Hindi a human language?"

"Yes, it's one of the many languages spoken in India, where I'm from."

"Oh, India!" The prince now looked really interested. "I know that one! I mean, I've never been there, but I've seen it on maps. Is it a nice place? Are there lots of people? What's the food like?"

Raj couldn't help but chuckle at how eager the other was. "You seem very interested in humans, your highness. Why?"

The prince smiled shyly. "Well, promise not to tell anyone, but I've always liked the human world. Like I've been there before. It's just so... interesting. I really wish I could see it." He gazed out at the open sea through one of the  palace windows.

Raj tilted his head a bit, watching the prince. He smiled lightly. "Well, perhaps you can, your highness. I mean, you can swim up to the surface and look around."

"Yes, I know." The prince sighed. "...I mean, really on the surface. I wish I could run around, like you guys can, or, well... could. Sorry, that was mean."

"Not at all, your highness."

"Toni. Please, call me Toni."

Raj gave a smile. "Toni. Funny, a friend of mine once had a dog called Tony." He mused. The prince blinked a bit, looking curious. " A.. dog...? What's a dog?"

The advisor chuckled and sat by the prince to start explaining, amused by those curious green eyes. 

He was beginning to like this kid.


	4. The deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, woo!  
> TW for this chapter: There's a brief mention of someone vomiting/sticking a finger down their throat to force vomiting.

"So, when it's someone's birthday, you put.. candles on a.. what's it called again?" 

"A cake." 

"Right! So, you put candles on a cake, and you light the candles on fire, only to just put them out again? Why did you light them on fire in the first place? Why do you need to blow them out?" 

There was a collective chuckle from the seven crewmembers as they watched Toni ponder the questions he was asking. The prince had been asking them all about the surface world for the past hour now, and who were they to refuse a curious prince? 

"I think it's a way to symbolize blowing away bad spirits." Eire mused. "You make a wish before you blow them out, after all." 

"You can make a wish?" Toni asked, lighting up. Feliciano gave an eager nod. "Sì, the birthday boy or birthday girl closes their eyes, makes a wish, and then blows out the candles. And they say that as long as you don't tell anyone about your wish, it will become true." 

Toni seemed to think hard about that. After a moment, he smiled, looking at the crew. "That's amazing. I wish we did that. It sounds like fun." 

"Perhaps you can ask your father to do something similar for your next birthday." Ivan suggested. This made Toni just shake his head. 

"No. No, he doesn't like anything... human. I mean, he gave shelter to those that William cursed, but he doesn't really like humans. He says they're.. Dangerous and cruel. They hurt nature, and most of the time they don't care that they do it on purpose. I don't think it's really true, though. The human I met was.." 

He suddenly fell silent, blushing. "...Nevermind, forget I said anything. Don't tell my father I met a human, he'll be furious." 

"Your secret is safe with us, mon ami." Francis mused. The others nodded in agreement. Toni just gave a relieved smile. "Thanks. I'm gonna go get something to eat, do you guys want anything?" 

"Oh! Can I get one of those seaweed pastries, please? They are delicious!~" Feliciano mused. Toni chuckled. "You got it~" He mused, before swimming off. 

Raj chuckled a bit, shaking his head in amusement. He then straightened up, seeing the king come over. "Your majesty." 

"Gentlemen." The king mused. "Enjoying the party?" 

"It's wonderful, thank you. The food is wonderful too." Ivan smiled. The king smiled at that. "I am glad to hear it. I see my son has been talking your ears off with questions, hasn't he?" 

"He has, but we don't mind." Feliciano smiled. "He's very curious about our lives on land, I guess." 

The king's smile faltered lightly. "Ah, yes, Toni is indeed very curious about the human world. I'd hoped he grew out of it, but his curiosity can be endless. And I don't blame him. After all, it might be a way to cope." 

"What do you mean, your majesty?" Francis asked. 

A sigh escaped the king as he looked over at his son, who was chatting with a few people at the food table. There was a slightly sad look in the king's eyes. 

"It's a story people here learn sooner or later. But Toni was orphaned. When he was still a toddler, my soldiers found him on a patrol. He was all alone, would've died if my men did not find him. They told me there was a big chance his family had been killed or swooped up in a net by humans." 

There was a tense silence. "That's... that's horrible." Gilbert eventually said. "Does.. Does Toni...?" 

"He knows. We never saw a reason to lie to him about it." The merman was still watching Toni laughing and mingling. "But the one thing he was always told, is that even though he is not of my blood, he is my son, and always will be." 

"I'm sure he knows that, your majesty." Francis said, smiling lightly. "He seems like a good kid." 

"He is. I just wish he'd keep his head down here in the water." The king sighed. He then smiled. "Ah, I apologize, I just spoiled the mood. It's supposed to be a party, no? Please, do enjoy." He mused, before swimming off to mingle with other guests. 

Toni swam back over to the group, holding a little platter of snacks. He glanced at his father, then back at the group. "What was that about? You all look sad. Did he say something weird?" 

"Oh, nothing weird. Don't worry about it." Raj hushed, reaching for a snack, only to find it too big. Eire helpfully cut it in half with one of his claws. Toni still watched them, not really believing Raj, before he seemed to understand. 

"He told you guys _that_ story, huh? Figured." 

The merman gave a sigh, grabbing a pastry and eating it almost passive-aggressively. "You guys really shouldn't pity me. It shouldn't matter. My interests have nothing to do with it." He seemed to take a deep breath for a moment. 

"...I need to swim outside for a moment. Excuse me." 

He swam off, leaving the platter there. Feliciano managed to grab a snack, frowning a bit. "...Was it something we said?" 

"No, Feli, don't worry. It's just that he's probably seen too many people feel sorry for him." Ivan said calmly. 

"But.. it's sad." 

"Yes, it is. And you can't help it that you feel sorry for him. But if you see too many faces feel sad for you, you can get angry about it. But that's non of our faults. Emotions are just strange. We can check up on him later." Raj said, carefully eating the snack while watching Toni swim out of the room. 

* * *

The cave opened with a soft little thud, and Toni sat down in one of the corners with a sigh. He was honestly tired of these parties. Yes, they could be fun, but he never could really connect with the people there. Well, unless they were victims of William's magic, then he could at least chat with them about the surface. But then they too looked at him with pity once the truth came out. 

He grabbed the strange little device he'd found earlier, tracing the symbols with his fingers. Would Alfred pity him? Probably not. He wouldn't know he came from the sea, Toni could spin his own story. 

He wouldn't be the orphan prince, he could be Toni. Maybe the son of a... what was it called again..? A fisherman? Yes, a fisherman. Or something like that. And he could just talk with him about things, become friends. Maybe even more. 

If only he didn't have this tail. He glanced at his green tail for a bit, frowning at it. On land, they didn't have a tail. they had legs, feet, toes. But how would he ever get legs? He glanced at the little device again, thinking. Perhaps... 

"Excuse me, your highness?" 

Toni gave a yelp and quickly hid the device behind him. His eyes widened at seeing Raj by the entrance to his hide-away. In his current mood, he completely forgot to close it up again. "Raj, what.. Why are you here?" 

"We were worried about you. And we wanted to apologize. I know you've seen too many people pity you, and.." Raj fell silent at the sight of the cave. "..Oh. Oh, wow." 

"Raj, please, leave me alone. Don't tell anyone about this place, I-" 

Toni felt his heart sink at seeing his father following Raj inside. The look on the king's face made him want to die. He was sick of all this... pity. 

"Father, I.." 

"No, Toni, don't. I should've expected you had some trinkets. This is just... more than I had anticipated." The king sighed, looking around. "I must say I'm impressed. You're quite the collector." 

Toni wanted to feel happy at his father's words, tell him about the things he found, but there was an underlying feeling of... disappointment from his father. "...I guess I am. I've been collecting since I was a child." 

"I see." His father picked up one of the fragile vessels, studying it. "...I assume you got those from sunken human ships?" 

Toni just nodded. "Yeah. Mostly those that William sank." 

"I see. Toni," His father turned to look at him, placing the vessel back down. "You know I don't mind you having interests. It's healthy to have them. But this? This human business is something you should stay out of. You are not part of that world, you can't long for it when you belong here. You're a prince, next in line for the throne. For your own good, and the good of the kingdom, seal this place up." 

His heart dropped. "But father!" he protested, shrinking back his father gave him a stern glare. "Don't speak back to me, Toni. I will allow you to keep a handful of trinkets. Don't make me refuse you that luxury." 

Toni watched his father swim out of the cave, and clenched his fists. This wasn't fair, this just wasn't fair. He let out a frustrated growl, looking away, before looking at Raj, narrowing his eyes a bit. 

Raj looked rather guilty. "..I didn't mean to lead him here, I promise. When I told him I was going to check on you, he just followed. You must understand, I couldn't refuse the king, but I would've never wanted to cause him to-" 

"Don't." Toni huffed, looking at the sand with a sigh. "...Don't. It's not your fault. He's been doing things for 'my own good' since I was a child. I'm sure he would've found this place one day either way. But this is going too far. I'm not some child that needs to be protected. But I'll be alright, don't worry." 

He glanced at the device again. The idea wormed itself in his mind again. And now, he didn't even have to mull it over. He made up his mind. Grabbing his bag, he shoved the device into it. 

"...I'm going for a swim." Toni said, pushing himself off of the sand. Raj looked at him, worried. "...Are you sure you'll be alright? Do you need me to come along, perhaps to talk?" 

"That's very kind of you. But I need to be alone for a while. Tell my father I'll be back." He mused, swimming outside. 

"When?" Raj asked, scurrying after him to the cave entrance. Toni forced himself to smile a bit. 

"Later." 

* * *

Gillen was silently staring at the fish that was swimming there near the cave. It seemed to be lost, alone, an easy prey. Slowly, he made his way over, hiding behind the rocks, waiting for the perfect moment. 

Suddenly, he shot forward, grabbing the fish and pulling it along behind the rocks again. It struggled and squirmed, but he held tight, keeping it still before.. 

"There you go." 

He finally managed to pull out the metal hook that was stuck in its back fin. Gillen released the fish, watching it flee back towards where he knew the school had to be. He smiled faintly, looking at the hook he pulled out. It had been in there for quite a bit, judging from the rust. That poor fish would have an easier time swimming now. 

He quickly hid the hook at hearing someone nearby. If Luciano and Flavio caught him helping a fish, he'd be ridiculed by them, and they'd tattle to his father. And his father would not be amused. He could already hear the sneer of his voice. 

_'Those pathetic creatures are below us, don't have such a bleeding heart.'_

Gillen swallowed. Well, best just look and get it over with. He slowly peeked out from his hiding place, and was surprised by who he saw. 

The prince was swimming near the cave, looking around. It seemed like he was having second thoughts about.. Something, but then pushed through it. Gillen frowned, swimming out of his hiding spot. 

"What are you doing here?" 

The other backed up a bit, surprised by Gillen's appearance. He rubbed at his arm, watching the warlock's son. 

"I.. I ah.. I came to make a deal with your father." 

Gillen raised an eyebrow. "...what?" 

"I came to make a deal-" 

"Yeah, I heard you, I'm not deaf." Gillen interjected, frowning. "Why though?" 

"Well, I-" 

"Who's there?" William's voice echoed from the cave. Gillen froze, turning to see his father swim out the cave and smile widely at the sight of the prince. 

"Why, prince Toni. To what do I owe the honour of visiting royalty, your highness?" The sea warlock mused, bowing at the young merman. 

Toni swallowed a bit. "I.. I wish to strike a deal with you, William." 

"My, my. In all my years, I never thought our prince would want to do business~ Please, do come in. Let's talk over some tea or something, hm?" 

William motioned the prince to follow him inside. Toni swallowed again, then followed him inside. Gillen shivered, also following. He had a bad feeling about this. 

Once inside, William motioned for the prince to take a seat at the table. "Would you like anything to drink, your highness?~" 

"Ah.. N-No thank you." Toni said, trying to sit up straight. He was shaking a bit. 

"Hm, suit yourself~" William mused, sitting down as well. "Now then, what can I help you with?~" 

The prince sat up a bit more, looking a bit more determined. "I.. I know you can turn humans into sea creatures. And.. And I was wondering if.. If you could do it the other way around." 

"What do you mean, dear boy? Are you asking me to turn back all the monsters into their murderous human forms? Because that answer is no." 

"No, I.." Toni fidgeted a bit, then gathered the courage. "I want to become a human. Can you do that?" 

William's smile grew. "Can I do that? Why yes, I can, of course. However, it is a very difficult spell. I will need a lot of energy and resources. A spell like that... it requires payment." 

"I can pay. You know I can." Toni quickly said. "Just.. what do you want? I can get it." 

"Eager, aren't you?" William chuckled. "Well, seeing you're so eager and I kind of like your face, I'll give you a discount. Normally, a spell like this would cost you your soul, or a chunk of your lifespan. But for you... How about.." He thought for a moment, then smirked. 

"How about your voice?" 

There was a brief silence as Toni touched his own throat. "...But.. But how would I communicate?" 

"Not all communication is verbal, your highness. I'm sure you can handle yourself, if you want this that much. So, do we have a deal?" 

The prince seemed to think about it. Then he clutched that bag he had a bit more, nodding. "Yes. We have a deal." 

"Wonderful." William grinned. "Right. Then let's get started, shall we?~ Right this way. I doubt you want to be stuck underwater with your new lungs, so let's get you to a spot closer to the surface." 

William waved a hand at a bubble with a flame in it, and swam outside while the bubble followed him. Toni followed the warlock, to what seemed to be the garden. He stared up, seeing the sun up at the surface, then looked at William, who was looking around. 

"..So.. How does this go?" 

"Just a moment, your highness." The warlock mused, grabbing a small brown stone. "Here. Swallow it, then spit it back up." 

Toni took the stone, staring at it. "..How do I.. ah.." He started, before realizing what he needed to do. "Right." He nodded, swallowing a bit. Before he could change his mind, he put the stone in his mouth, and swallowed it. Then, he stuck his finger down his throat after it. 

The stone had probably not even gone down his esophagus yet, as he felt the stone being thrown right back out of his mouth. But instead of the dull brown, the stone was suddenly a vibrant green. He wanted to ask what just happened to the stone, but no sound came out of his mouth. 

William smiled, picking up the stone. "Perfect. Now, for what you wanted. Good luck and swim fast~" He began moving his hands over the bubble of fire, muttering words under his breath. Magic began swirling around them both, and Toni felt himself being lifted up. 

The magic suddenly shot into him, coursing through him, gripping something in him and changing it. His tail split in two, scales disappearing. His chest burned as something inside suddenly burned for air alone. 

An instinct to get to the surface suddenly coursed through him, and he automatically began kicking his new appendages to go up, up, up. His vision began to blur, his chest hurt more and more, until he finally breached the surface. 

The only sound that escaped him was a loud gasp as his body screamed with joy of finally breathing the air. The next sounds were loud coughs, as he struggled to swim to one of the rocks. Once he finally managed to drag himself onto the rock, he flopped down onto his stomach, panting for breath. 

He wanted to laugh and cry, rolling onto his back and squinting against the sunlight. Feelings of regret were overwhelmed by the sheer feeling of euphoria. As if he'd finally arrived where he belonged. 

After he finally caught his breath, he slowly sat up to look at what he'd gotten out of the deal. As expected, there were two legs, both with feet. He curiously touched them, shivering as he felt the touch. Oh, how interesting, the little hairs on there began to stand up. He grinned, looking around more at what he'd received. 

There were little darker spots all over the.. Thighs and calves, and one on the underside of one of his feet. The toes had nails too, just like his hands. There was an area between his legs which first confused him, but then made him realize humans had these organs on the outside, not tucked behind a slit in a tail. How interesting this all was. 

Toni looked around, soon spotting the beach in the distance. Perhaps he better go there, it was better than being stuck on this rock. Perhaps he could find people – actual real-life people! - to help him on his way. 

Well, he had to try. Carefully, he dragged himself off the rock, back into the water. It took a moment to figure out how to use his arms and legs to swim, but once he figured out a way, he began making his way towards the beach. 

He hoped he'd do well there. 


	5. The prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Emotional abuse by a parent in the Gillen bit. Starts at "Gillen sat in the garden, looking up at the surface of the water.", until the page break. Skip past it if you want, I'll give a summary of the bit at the end of the chapter.

Alfred didn't know why he was walking along the beach. He overheard Matthew telling father that this was his way of coping with grief. Perhaps it was, but Alfred sort of knew why he really did this. There was the tiny glimmer of hope that he would run into the person who rescued him. A silly idea, of course, but something just told him to do this.

Cooper didn't mind the walk, the beagle was having fun. so that was the positive side to this. Giving a sigh, Alfred sat on a rock and watched the sea for a bit. He could still hear that voice if he concentrated, could still feel the gentle touch of his saviour. If only he could thank them, just a 'thank you' would do if they didn't want to be rewarded.

The sound of Cooper barking and howling made him look over. The beagle had wandered off to run around a bit. Perhaps he'd found something. 

"I'm coming buddy, I'm coming." Alfred called back, walking over, expecting to find Cooper with like a dead seagull or a stranded jellyfish.

It was not a dead seagull. Nor a stranded jellyfish. It was a man, curled up by the rocks near the shoreline, shivering and backing away from the dog. The man was tanned, with soaked dark curls and wide green eyes. He was also very much naked, save for a bag that seemed to be made out of many patches of fabric, which he was using to cover himself.

Alfred shook himself out of his stupor and whistled for Cooper to heel. Quickly, he took his coat off and gave it to the man. "Are you alright, sir? Are you hurt?"

The man just stared at him, his face a bit flushed as he covered himself. He swallowed, nodded, then shook his head. Alfred blinked a bit, confused. "I.. don't understand. Are you hurt, or not?"

The man shook his head. Alfred nodded in understanding. "Good, good. What happened?"

It seemed to take him a moment, but then the strange man just pointed at the sea. Alfred looked at the water, still a bit confused. "...Did something happen at sea?"

A nod.

"..Were you in a shipwreck..?"

A shake of the head.

Alfred sighed. "Sir, it would help a lot better if you would just tell me what happened."

The man frowned, then pointed at his throat and shook his head. When Alfred kept frowning in confusion, the man crossed his pointer fingers over each other and placed them against his throat.

"..Oh, I see. You're mute?"

The man moved his hand in a 'kinda' gesture. He moved his hands in a gesture of pointing with his full hand, then using the other to imitate a timeline going backwards. Alfred soon nodded in understanding. "Oh, so you could speak before, but now you can't? Ah, so you've just lost your voice."

A  nod and a relieved smile. Alfred smiled as well. "You know what, come along with me, I'll get you patched up and we can find out what happened." He went to help the man up, but he seemed a bit hesitant, beginning to gesture. 

Pointing at himself, shaking his head, then pointing at his scraped-up, perhaps even broken legs, and using his arms to imitate walking. Alfred blinked. "Ah... Can't walk yet either, huh? Well, that's easily solved. C'mon, I'll give you a piggyback ride."

He helped the man onto his back, carrying him back up the beach. The man seemed rather flustered, but held onto him. Alfred smiled lightly, climbing up the rocks back to the palace. Somehow, he had the small nagging feeling that he knew this man, but it couldn't be. 

The man was rather mute, after all.

* * *

Raj was pacing a bit, worriedly looking at the door from time to time. The party was dying down by now, and Toni still hadn't returned. He was beginning to worry.

"Raj, could you please stop stressing? You're  gonna give yourself a heart attack." Gilbert huffed. "Sit, have some more food or something, the kid will be fine."

"I just have a bad feeling." Raj mumbled, frowning.

"You worry too much. Like the king said, Toni often just... swims off. But he's always returned, so it's not a cause for alarm." Eire said. " Just.. Relax, alright?"

"Fine." Raj sighed, sitting down. "...I still have a bad feeling."

"Maybe you're just tired. It's been a long day." Feliciano mused.

"It has. We should go to bed. Or whatever  merpeople sleep on." Ivan said, helping the starfish twins up, then began helping Eire with bringing Gilbert and Francis along. Raj followed after them, but cast one last frown at the door.

He still had a really bad feeling.

* * *

Gillen sat in the garden, looking up at the surface of the water. He felt like he should've done something. Perhaps he should've talked Toni out of this, he knew what his father was planning, why didn't he stop it?

The answer was clear to him. It had been drilled into him since he was a kid. He was a coward. His father had said it to him time and time again. 

"You'd think you were a frightened little guppy instead of my heir." His father would huff whenever Gillen shrunk away under the warlock's glare. Luciano and Flavio teased him mercilessly, and he never had the guts to tell his father, knowing he'd be blamed for it himself.

He wished he was braver. Back when he was little, he was a bit braver. He ventured out on his own many times, curious about the places beyond his birth cave. That's when he'd met another curious soul.

His heart clenched at the memory. Toni had seen him looking around a sunken ship, and had said hello to him, instead of the usual 'Go away tainted child' or 'You're not welcome here, warlock son'. The prince had been kind to him, treated him like any other merchild, even played with him.

They'd played a lot, most of the time in secret, until one day, they had been caught. A guard on patrol had seen the prince, had jumped to the conclusion that Gillen was planning to do something evil. Gillen still remembered how the king's soldiers chased him, how he barely avoided them by hiding deep down in a trench. 

He saw Toni a few days later after that, and it was clear the prince had been told the cautionary tale of the warlock by then. There was nothing he could do to truly heal their bond again. A child believes their parent, after all. 

And besides, he wasn't brave enough to try anymore.

Gillen hugged himself a bit, shaking. It still hurt, after more than 10 years. He wanted to hug Toni when he saw him coming to the cave. But he wasn't brave enough. And now his chance to make things right was gone. And he hated himself for it.

"Gillen."

He jumped a bit, looking back to see his father behind him. Gillen quickly got up. "Father, I... What is it?"

William stared at him for a moment, then frowned. "...Stop your pity party. It's time we start on our plan."

" What.. what plan?"

His father just motioned him to follow him back into the cave, swimming back inside. As Gillen rushed to keep up with him, he began to explain.

"You know how I told you about getting you to marry a prince from the surface? Well, that plan is now in motion. And this is the key to our success."

William handed him a green glowing stone. Gillen recognized it right away, and he frowned. "...The stone Toni puked up...?"

"The stone that contains his voice. You see, our little merprince saved the very prince I'd planned for you to marry. Snatched him up, right from under our noses. And what's worse, your future prince wants to marry whoever saved him. At first, I thought our plan was done for. But then, I found out that there's one crucial detail." His father smirked. "Your future groom only remembers the voice of his saviour. Not their face, their voice. And that's where  you come in."

Gillen stared at the stone, feeling sick to his stomach. "You mean...?"

"Yes~ If you swallow that stone, you will have the very voice we need to get that prince to marry you! Of course, I'll need to use all my remaining power to make a spell to turn us both human. It will take a while to make it, but once you marry that prince, my powers will return tenfold. We will rule land and sea!"

Horrified, Gillen stared at his father. " I.. I can't just... But what about Toni? He's up there, on land! What if he finds out I stole his voice? I can't do that!"

William waved a hand in dismissal. "As if anyone would believe a mute man who crawled out of the sea. We just need to hurry up before the prince decides he wants to marry him instead." He mused as he began to gather ingredients. "Go get me three eels, would you?

Gillen clenched his fist a bit, disgusted by this whole thing. Toni might not be on speaking terms with him anymore, physically or emotionally, but he was still his friend. And perhaps it was time he stood up for a friend.

"No."

"We're out of dead ones, I need fresh ones for the spell. Go get them, now."

"I'm not talking about the eels, father." Gillen snapped. "I.. I won't do this."

William slowly turned around, frowning at him. "...Excuse me? I must be going a bit deaf. Repeat that, please?"

Gillen shrunk back, trying to remain confident. " I.. I said I won't do this. I'll tell that prince about what you're planning, and-"

He was cut off as his father grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the wall. The warlock glared him down, dark amusement in his eyes.

"Well, well, well. Seems the little guppy finally grew a spine. Do me a  favor , son. Do as I tell you before I rip your voice out too. This is all for your own good, you know. But, seeing you protest this much, perhaps I need to take some precautions."

His father hissed something; his eyes glowing. The flame in the bubble flared a bit, and Gillen cried out in pain as something burned into his neck. When his father released him, there was a dark spot on the side of his neck, like a birthmark.

"To keep you in check. If you even try to tell your groom anything related to this... Well, let's not find out, shall we?" William sing-songed, before going back to his work.

Gillen shakily touched the mark, disgusted that his father would go this far. "...What about Toni?"

William barked a laugh. "Like I said; Nobody believes a mute. Now go get me those eels."

* * *

When he got back to the palace, Alfred helped the servants bring the strange man to the baths. He watched how the man looked around in awe, amused by how the other seemed to think the simplest things in the castle were impressive. Then again, this was a castle.

"What's your name, by the way?" He asked once the man had been dressed and helped into a chair. The man looked at him, clearly debating how to bring the message over, and then pointed at some paper and a quill. Once given, he scribbled down a name.

Toni.

"Toni, huh? Well, my name is Alfred. It's very nice to meet you."

Toni grinned brightly at him, and Alfred couldn't help but copy the smile. He sat down in another chair, watching him. "So, Toni. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

There was moment where Toni debated how to tell him, then he began to write. Alfred looked over at the paper. The words were simple and short, and written like a child learning how to write. Perhaps the man wasn't the most literate.

'Fell in water. Clumsy. Looking for treasures.'

Alfred chuckled lightly. "Ah, so you're a beachcomber? Then what happened to your clothes?"

Toni blushed a bit, and wrote down a single word.

Lost.

At that, Alfred began to laugh. Oh, that was unfortunate. He just patted the other's shoulder when Toni blushed brighter, shaking his head in amusement. "Well, you can stay here until your legs heal, alright? And maybe you can show me a few of the treasures you found in the meantime."

Toni nodded, grinning brightly, looking around for something. He tried to reach for his bag, and gave a polite nod when one of the servants handed it to him. Digging around in it, he suddenly pulled out a familiar compass, showing it to Alfred.

Alfred blinked, taking it and looking it over. His eyes widened. Even though it was impossible for this to have washed ashore, this was his compass. There was his name engraved in the back, along with the royal symbol.

"...How did you find this? Did it wash ashore?"

Toni nodded, smiling. He pointed at the compass, then at Alfred, raising an eyebrow. Alfred nodded, smiling a bit. "Yeah, this is mine. I have no idea how you found this, but thank you. It means a lot."

His guest just smiled brightly, and Alfred did the same. This guy was... interesting, to say the least. He wondered what other stories might come out of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the Gillen bit for those who need it: 
> 
> Gillen and Toni were friends as kids. King's soldiers caught them meeting in secret, got the wrong idea. Gillen feels awful for always being too much of a coward to reconcile, and now it's too late. William explains his plan; Gillen will swallow the voice stone and marry Alfred once William is finished with the 'make human spell'. Gillen tries to refuse, Willliam puts a spell on him that stops him from spilling the beans to Alfred once they're on the surface.


	6. Falling

"Any news?" 

"We've searched everywhere, your majesty. It's like he's disappeared." 

The entire court was restless. When prince Toni didn't return the night of the party, the king chalked it up to his son still being stubborn. "He'll be back, he's probably sulking in a trench somewhere." He'd said. "He's an adult, after all." 

But Toni hadn't returned the next day. Nor the day after. On day 3, Toni's pet porpoise had been found, without the prince. This was the moment the king called for a search party. 

The king's knights had been searching for at least 2 weeks now. They had looked in every part of the kingdom, looked through every sunken ship. But there was no sign of the prince. 

The king frowned, pain in his eyes. "...Have you looked for any signs that he might.." He didn't finish the sentence. The knight captain shook his head. 

"Luckily, no, your majesty. We've looked for those too, just in case. But nothing indicates that our prince is dead, your majesty. It's like he just... left the sea." 

"...Resume your search tomorrow, captain. There must be something you can find. For now, dismissed. Get some rest." The king said after a long moment, waving a hand. The knights nodded, saluting their king before leaving. 

"How terrible.." Feliciano whimpered as they watched the knights go. "You don't think Toni..?" 

"No, I don't think he's dead, Feli." Francis hushed, though he sounded uncertain. "Yes, maybe he's just.. hiding." Eire added. 

"People do that. He probably wants to be alone." Ivan mused. 

"For this long?" Lovino huffed. "I almost wanna bet he's been grabbed by something. Normal ocean creatures still exist." 

"Lovino, don't be so pessimistic. That kid seemed responsible enough to not go into dangerous territory." Gilbert said, before glancing at Raj when Lovino rolled his eyes. "Hey, neat boy, back me up here." 

Raj snapped out of his thoughts, looking back at the crew. "..I.. ah.. yes. You're right." He quickly said, before he seemed to go back to thinking. 

Eire frowned. "...You know something. What is it?" 

Now with the crew's eyes on him, Raj swallowed. "..I was with him before he left. There was this... look in his eyes. He said he'd be alright, that he'd be back 'later'. I've seen enough nobles force a smile at parties to know he was hiding something. The question of course is..." 

"What was he hiding?" Gilbert finished. "He had a lot of.. Human things in that cave, right? Things from ships." 

"Yes, he said he's been collecting since he was a kid." Raj nodded. "A very impressive collection." 

"So... One could say he was obsessed with human culture." Francis mused. 

"What do his hobbies have to do with his disappearance?" Lovino huffed. "It's not like he crawled onto land or something." 

This made the crew's eyes turn to him, and Lovino raised an eyebrow. "....What?" 

"But what if he did?" Ivan asked. "They couldn't find him anywhere in the sea." 

"He wouldn't survive long, he's still a merman." Eire pointed out. 

"Or maybe that mean warlock turned him into a human!" Feliciano said, earning him a little smack by his brother. 

"Don't be stupid, Feli. Like that would happen." 

* * *

Life had changed at the palace in this short time. Even it had only been two weeks, it felt like months to Alfred. 

Toni was taught how to walk, slowly but surely. He and Alfred often sat together, bonding over books and food, talking with gestures and expressions. And for the first time since nearly drowning, Alfred seemed to grow happy again. 

It didn't go unnoticed. Matthew often spotted his brother walking through the garden with their guest, holding his arm out for Toni to lean on, while the blonde talked and talked about whatever came to mind. And Matthew certainly wasn't blind to the sweet look on Toni's face as Alfred did so. 

Arthur also was not blind. Now that Toni was able to walk, and even dance and run a little, he couldn't ignore how proud his eldest looked. The king went to stand by Alfred as they watched Toni play with Cooper down in the garden, albeit stumbling as the beagle ran around. The brunette man was smiling though, which made Alfred smile. 

"...Why don't you marry him, my boy?" 

Alfred jumped a bit at the question, turning bright red as he looked at his father. Arthur chuckled a bit. "I am only teasing. But really, can you blame me? You've been happier than ever since Toni arrived here. You adore him, and he adores you. I wouldn't be surprised if you two started courting in secret already." 

The prince swallowed a bit, looking back at Toni, who was sitting on the ground and petting Cooper, silently laughing as the beagle licked his face. Alfred smiled lightly, then sighed. "...I can't." 

"Why not?" 

"Because I still haven't found the one who saved me. The one with the beautiful voice. Until I find them, I.. I can't." 

Arthur sighed. "To be frank, you're being ridiculous. How about this. If they don't show up by the end of the month, you should forget about them. Perhaps they don't want to be found. But he does." He pointed at Toni. "...Just give it some thought, dear boy. There are more treasures than lovely voices." 

With that, he gave his son a pat on the back, walking back inside. Alfred sighed a bit, watching Toni for a bit. When his friend turned and smiled at him, he smiled back, walking down to join him in the garden. 

So enough, they were back to their antics. The prince chuckled as he chased his mute friend around the grand garden in a game of tag. Just when he tried to catch the tanned man, the other slipped away, graceful and laughing silently. 

They soon stopped, cheeks rosy and panting with a smile. Alfred chuckled a bit as they sat on a bench. 

"You've only been able to walk for like a week and you're already faster than me~ What have the cooks been feeding you, Toni?~" 

The other laughed silently. He made the gesture of eating and then rubbed his stomach, licking his lips. Alfred chuckled again. 

"I agree, they make very good food. What's your favorite?" 

Toni made a thinking face, and then smiled, pointing towards the patch of tomato plants. Alfred playfully gagged. "I still don't understand how you can eat those raw." 

He just received another silent laugh. For a moment, they sat there in silence. Alfred stared out at the clouds. 

"...Toni? Do you.. Do you miss where ever you came from? Your home?" He suddenly asked, looking at his friend. 

Toni thought, and shook his head. He pointed at Alfred, then at himself, and drew a smile on his own face with his fingers. 

"I make you happy, huh?" 

A happy nod. 

"You like it here better?" 

Another nod. 

"Well, I do think you can stay here, if you want. Father wouldn't disagree. He might even order you." He joked, looking at the clouds again. The sudden hug he received at that made him laugh and hug back. 

"I see that makes you even happier, huh?~ It's cute." Alfred mused. He blinked when Toni shook his head and pointed at him. "What?" 

Toni seemed to think about how to communicate his disagreement. He pointed at Alfred, then squeezed his own cheeks with a smile. 

"....You think I'm fat?" 

The other quickly shook his head, panic in his green eyes. He tried again by touching Alfred's cheeks, then smiling brightly, squeezing his eyes shut and silently giggling. 

"...You think.. I'm cute?" 

Toni nodded, smiling brightly. Alfred blushed a little, and playfully ruffled Toni's hair. "Thanks." 

Barking made them look up to see Cooper running over, tail wagging. Toni lit up and stood to go play with the energetic beagle, leaving Alfred to just sit there. His father's words echoed through his head again. 

There are more treasures than lovely voices. 

That much was true. Toni was a literal treasure hunter, after all. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to let go of this voice. 

But no. At least not yet. If there was one thing Alfred wanted to keep, it was his word. 

He would wait until the end of this month. Just a week longer. 

* * *

"It is finally finished, my boy~" William mused as he looked down in the cauldron. Gillen looked as well, a slight frown on his face. There was a multi-colored swirl of muck in there, faintly glowing and pulsing in the dark cave. 

"...Do we need to eat that?" 

"Yes, but not yet. First..." William handed him the faintly glowing stone. "Swallow it." 

Gillen took the stone, frowning down at it. He didn't want to do this, this was bad, he had to be brave and just throw it aside, warn someo- 

A jolt of pain squeezed around his neck from the mark, and he yelped a bit, clutching the mark. His father looked unimpressed, crossing his arms and staring at him, almost saying "Get it over with already." 

Gillen shivered, then popped the stone in his mouth. It took a few tries and a bit of gagging, but soon the stone slid down, seemingly shrinking and jumping down the other pipe, settling near his vocal cords. 

He tried his best to ignore the feeling of his body yelling at him that there was a stone in his lungs, biting through the tears of pain, and soon the feeling seemed to disappear. Still panting a bit, he looked at his father, who seemed to be waiting for something. 

"...I... ah.." 

Gillen smacked a hand over his mouth in surprise. Instead of his own quiet and slightly raspy voice, Toni's louder and more melodious voice came from his mouth. William's smirk only grew at that. 

"It seems the most important step has succeeded. Come, let's get closer to the surface now to complete our plan." He mused, filling two jars with the magic muck he'd made. 

"Time to meet your future husband~" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: The scene of Toni and Alfred in the garden was the first scene I ever wrote for this AU :)


	7. The traitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll, but only because this chapter is made out of snippets I wrote before- ;7;

The day started out so beautifully. Toni blinked his eyes open, lightly squinting against the sunlight that escaped through the curtains. He stretched, smiling as the soft blankets of his bed rubbed against his skin. With a yawn, he got out of bed, walking over to where the staff had placed down his clothes.

Once he got dressed, there was a knock on the door. "Mr. Toni, it's Mrs. Mawday. I've brought you breakfast, can you give me two knocks if I can come in?"

Toni smiled, knocking hard twice on the desk. The door opened, and the kind and elderly lady walked in with a cart. She smiled at the sight of him, and began placing the dish on his desk.

"Good morning, sir. I hope you slept well~ For today, I brought you eggs, bacon and toast, and some of the strawberries that arrived this morning. The kitchen sadly ran out of that lemon tea you like, but I hope lemongrass will do?"

Toni nodded, looking over the breakfast she brought. Smiling, he touched his fingertips to his mouth for a moment, gesturing 'Thank you' to her. Mrs.  Mawday just smiled. "You are welcome, love. Enjoy, and ring the bell if you need anything else, alright?"

He gave another nod, giving a wave as she left. Once the door closed, he sat down, and began to eat. If his voice still was there, he would be humming in delight. So instead, he stuck to lightly wiggling his body, smiling.

After a while, his plate was empty, and he picked the dishes up to bring them back to the kitchen. Even though Alfred and the other staff members had told him many times that he could just let the servants do it for him, he liked helping around the court and pretending he wasn't royalty or a royal guest.

As he walked out into the hall, the sound of talking downstairs caught his ear. Curious, he followed the sound. But as he got closer, h e froze at recognizing the voices downstairs. Carefully, he peeked around a pillar to see what was going on. His heart seemed to plummet to his stomach, making him nauseous with dread.

Down there, there were two people he'd never thought to see here, standing by the king and Alfred. Gillen stood there, human legs and all, next to his father, who also seemed very human now. Both were dressed like noblemen. But what had truly made Toni feel dread, was the fact that he had heard his own voice.

William gave a bright smile at the king. "You see, your majesty, my dear Gillen never knew he'd saved our prince. He even didn't tell me he saved someone! And then when we heard there was this whole search going on, he finally confessed he'd saved a man that night. I tried to urge him to go tell you it was him who saved the prince, but my Gillen is very shy. I had to practically drag him to the castle!~"

Arthur kind of looked Gillen up and down. "So, you saved my son?"

"Yes, your majesty." Gillen said shakily, not meeting the king's eyes. He also avoided looking Alfred in the face, as the prince was staring at him in shock.

Arthur gave a little hum in understanding, turning to his son, who just gave a little nod. The king gave a nod back, before looking at Gillen. "I assume you know your reward, for coming forward."

"Oh, we certainly do. How soon will this wedding take place?" William purred.

By now, Toni had heard enough. He turned to rush away, only to stumble and fall to the ground, the plate and cup shattering into pieces. When he stood upright again, he saw the four men looking up at him, all their expressions different. Alfred looked at his friend in shocked surprise.

"Toni, I.."

He fell silent as Toni glared at him with teary eyes. Toni's gaze then turned to Gillen, betrayed, before he rushed back to his room, silent tears falling.

"I apologize, but who was that?" William mused, smiling lightly. Alfred swallowed, trying to decide if he should run after Toni, or stay here. "...A friend. I ah... I should talk to him. Please excuse me."

He gave them a polite bow, before rushing up the stairs. "Toni, wait-!" He just managed to avoid the porcelain shards and the maid that had rushed over to see what had broken. After giving her a polite nod, he ran further down the hall to Toni's room.

"Toni?"

Alfred knocked on the door, in their knock-knock- knockity -knock pattern. Silence. Not even the usual knocks back to signal Toni had heard him. Frowning, he knocked again. "Toni, can I come in? One for yes, two for no?"

Two, rather aggressive, knocks.

He couldn't help but flinch. "...Toni, are you mad..?"

One hard knock. Faintly, Alfred could hear him sniffling. "..I don't understand, Toni... Can we talk about it?"

Two knocks. He bit his lip. "...Do you need to be alone for a bit?"

One knock.

"...Can I come back later? I'll let you calm down a bit, and we can have cake?"

There was silence for a bit. Then, a single knock. Alfred smiled lightly. "Alright. I'll be back, okay? Everything is  gonna be alright."

The silence was his answer, and Alfred stepped back from the door with a sigh. He began walking back to their guests, only to see Gillen walking towards him.

"..Is he alright, your highness?" Gillen asked carefully. Alfred nodded with a sigh, looking back down the hall. "He'll be fine, I hope. I don't know what set him off, but I'm letting him calm down for now. There's no need for you to worry."

Gillen just nodded. "I see. I hope I didn't upset him."

"Oh, no, I don't think you upset him. Toni is probably just in a mood. He cannot voice his frustrations with words these days, so I guess that's why it hits him harder." Alfred sighed a bit, then tried to smile. "But no matter. How about I show you around?"

The other smiled lightly, shaking his head. "That's very kind, but I think I can manage on my own. I actually came to tell you the king wanted to speak with you, alone."

Alfred sighed. "I see. Thank you.  I'll.. ah.. speak with you later?"

"I'm sure you will, your highness." Gillen smiled. Alfred smiled as well, giving him a nod before walking off.

Gillen watched him go, then looked over at the door down the hall. Swallowing, he walked towards it, standing there for a moment. This was it, the moment he could fix all this. Hopefully, Toni would listen to him.  Carefully, he knocked on the door. 

There was no answer, of course there wouldn't be, but the sound of a chair scraping along the ground told Gillen enough. He nervously wrung his hands together as he heard the footsteps coming to the door.

When the door swung open, he swallowed at the state of Toni. He looked like he'd been crying for quite a while, and his hair was a mess. The clothes he wore were simple, yet very luxurious, but were rumbled now. Toni's expression turned from trying to hide his tears, to outright rage.

Gillen gave a yelp when he was grabbed by the collar, dragged into the room, and then slammed against the wall once Toni had slammed the door shut again. Toni stared at him with rage in his eyes, angrily pointing at Gillen's throat as he pinned him with one arm.

"I-I know, I know, but I can explain."

Toni gestured more, angrily signalling him to get to it, fast. Gillen just nodded, trying to stop trembling. "It's my dad's plan, I never wanted to take your voice, I swear. He.. He wants me to marry the prince."

Green eyes widened, and Toni looked ready to strangle him. Gillen quickly continued. 

"But I don't want to either, I swear! But I have to! If I don't,  then.. Then he'll hurt me. He'll make me say the 'I do'. He burned this mark into my neck. Luckily, it's not strong enough to stop me from warning you, but it will force me to stay on script before and during the wedding. Please, you have to believe me, I don't want this either!"

For a long moment, Toni glared at him, then he seemed to replace all anger with grief, letting him go. Tears dripping down his face as he dropped to his knees, hugging himself.

Hesitantly, Gillen sat by him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "...I wish I could do something, I truly do. But my father's magic is protected in the sea. We could never get down there."

Toni suddenly perked up, an idea in his eyes. He stumbled to his feet, rushing over to the desk to grab a quill and paper. When Gillen looked at him in confusion, he gestured him to come over, scribbling something on the paper. Gillen looked over his shoulder at the symbols, frowning in confusion.

"..I can't read human letters, Toni." He reminded his old friend. Toni seemed to sigh, then began drawing something. It looked familiar, like some sort of sea creature, and suddenly he understood.

"That's your porpoise. Rizada, right?"

A rapid nod.

"Okay... What about her?"

Toni resumed drawing again, drawing a castle of coral and seashells.

"That's the Atlantian palace.."

Toni nodded, pointing at his drawing of Rizada, then at the palace drawing.

"..Rizada.. goes to the palace.."

Another nod, and Toni drew a simple cave with a flame in it. He repeated his pointing, then circled both drawings and drew a point at the cave.

Gillen's eyes widened when he understood, and he smiled. "She's warning the court so they can destroy the flame! Oh, that.. That might work, yes! But, how do we tell her to do that?"

Toni gave him a look, and Gillen understood. "...She doesn't like me, I think."

There was a roll of the  seaprince's eyes, and Toni stood to grab his bag. After pulling a small shell out of it, Toni dragged Gillen along out of the room. Gillen let him drag him down some stairs, down to a large garden. 

At the end of the garden were some stairs, leading to the water. Toni sat down by the water, placing the shell to his lips. A shrill whistle sounded, and Toni expectantly stared at the water.

For a long moment, nothing seemed to happen. Gillen frowned a bit. He was ready to tell Toni that whatever he did didn't work, when there was a shrill chatter in the distance. Toni lit up as a familiar porpoise came swimming over, placing his hands in the water and lightly splashing them around.

Rizada swam over to her owner, curiously nosing at his hands and leaning into the pets. Toni seemed to be laughing in relief, silently cooing at her. After a bit, he looked at Gillen, giving him a nod.

Hesitantly, Gillen sat down as well. " Hey.. ah.. I know I sound like Toni now, but there's no time to explain. Tell the people of Atlantis to destroy my father's flame. Please, hurry."

Rizada seemed to stare at him for a while, swimming a bit closer. Gillen tried to back up, but stopped when Toni grabbed his wrist and placed Gillen's hand on  Rizada's head. 

After a moment, the porpoise nuzzled into his hand, squeaking softly. Gillen couldn't help but smile a bit. "...I know. But this needs to be fixed. Please, warn the king, his soldiers, everyone. This needs to be solved. We're counting on you."

It took another moment before the porpoise seemed to nod, backing off. She nuzzled Toni's hands for a moment, before swimming off.

Toni watched her go, smiling lightly. He then turned to Gillen, hugging him tight. Gillen froze up at that, but slowly hugged back. 

"... I.. You're welcome."

After a moment of silence, Toni let him go, standing up. He helped Gillen up, clutching his hands. There was anxious expression on his face all of a sudden. Gillen frowned at him, suddenly feeling confident enough to make the other look at him, his voice steady.

"Don't worry. I think this is  gonna work. Maybe not in the way we expect, but it'll work. Do you trust me?"

He'd never dared to dream of seeing Toni nod to that question. But he did. Gillen smiled, hugging him again.

"Then trust that this is  gonna work out. If your father's forces destroy that flame, everything will be okay. We just need to wait now."

Toni nodded, hugging him tighter. For a moment, they both glanced at the water.

Yes, patience was their hope now.


	8. A plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for this chapter:  
> \- Matthew shouting (Al deserves it though, ngl-)  
> \- Mention of drugged tea  
> \- Cursing

"I can't find anything in here." Feliciano sighed.

"Then keep looking, there must be something here that can help." Raj said, looking through more artifacts. They had been combing through every nook and cranny of Toni's collection, trying to find a clue as to where the prince could be.

"When do we know we found something useful?" Lovino asked, looking over an old painting. "I mean, what are we really looking for? A note? A map of directions?"

" Just.. Something." Raj huffed. After a moment, he sighed and hung his head. "...I really have no idea."

"We'll find something, I'm sure of it." Ivan hushed, studying some of the books Toni collected. "There must be something that can tell us. Just wait and see."

"We're  gonna need a bloody miracle, if you ask me." Eire sighed, putting aside a broken umbrella. "That's the only thing I can think of."

Raj was about to huff something at him, when the voices of Gilbert and Francis called them to the opening of the cave. Due to their rather stationary forms, the two sailors had taken up the job of guarding the cave in case people wanted to go in.

"The prince's dolphin is back, you guys!" Gilbert called.

"She's a porpoise, mon ami."

" Nevermind what she is, she seems to want to tell us something!"

Curious and confused, the crew swam out of the cave. Indeed, there was Toni's porpoise, swimming around in circles and chattering fast at them. It was clear she wanted to communicate with them, but  non of them spoke, well, chatter.

"Hey, hey,  hey.. Easy girl, easy. We cannot understand you." Ivan hushed, swimming up to  Rizada . "Can you show us what you  wanna say?"

The porpoise chattered a bit, nervously swimming around. Then, she seemed to gesture for them to follow her, speeding off towards the castle.

"Hey, wait!" Ivan called as they tried to follow as fast as they could.

"Hey, what about us?!" Gilbert called after his 5 friends that could at least move. Raj glanced back at them for a moment. 

"Just wait  there and.. Ah... chill, I guess!"

* * *

Alfred walked towards his room, letting out a sigh. He was holding the wedding plans for tomorrow. Gillen's father, William, had been very excited to discuss these plans over tea. The wedding would have to be rushed, but it would still be beautiful.

Deep down, something screamed at him that this was too soon, that he had to think about it, but a strange feeling of... euphoria and duty overshadowed it. Perhaps he had to lie down for a bit in his room, to think it over.

But before he could reach his room, the door to Matthew's room opened nearby, and the younger prince stalked out. Without giving Alfred time to say anything, Matthew knocked him against the wall.

"Woah- Hey! Mattie!" Alfred protested as Matthew snatched the plans out of his hands. He'd never seen his younger brother look this peeved.

"Don't you 'Mattie' me. What do you think you're doing?!" Matthew snapped as he looked up from the plans. "Are you seriously about to marry that guy this soon?! You barely know him!"

"He saved me, Matthew! And I promised to marry the one who saved me! I gave father my word!"

"Oh, fuck that! You know father only made you promise that because there was no way your saviour was going to show up! For crying out loud, you made that promise when you were delirious with fever!"

"Does that make my promises no longer true?!" Alfred snapped, snatching the plans back. "What kind of king would that make me, going back on my word?"

"In this case? A rational one!" Matthew huffed. He rubbed his hands down his face. "Al, seriously. Even with glasses, you cannot be this blind. You can't tell me you don't see how you're throwing away the perfect person by doing this."

Alfred stared at him for a moment, confused. Matthew rolled his eyes, giving his brother a shove. "Are you really this dense? I'm talking about Toni, idiot! You two have been inseparable these past few weeks, you can't tell me you haven't seen how he looks at you. How you look at him."

".. I.. I can't marry Toni."

"Why the fuck not? He loves you, Al! Everyone can see it! The staff have been on about it for days now, saying how they were praying for the end of the month to come so you wouldn't be bound by that silly vow. And you love him too, right?"

Alfred stayed silent, looking away. "...I can't. He's... He's  just.. Just a-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Matthew snapped. "You know that doesn't matter. It certainly doesn't matter to father. What's the real reason?"

"I just can't, okay?!"

There was a silence. Alfred hugged himself.  ".. The thought just... feels so wrong for some reason. And I gave my word, Mattie. I can't go back on that."

Matthew stared at him for a long moment, some sort of disgust in his gaze. "...I can't believe you, Alfred. I didn't expect you to be such a coward."

Shoving his brother aside, Matthew walked off, leaving Alfred there flabbergasted. The younger prince turned a corner, clenching his fists. He needed to calm down, before he lost it. Perhaps the garden would do.

While internally he still wanted to scream, the garden helped quite a lot with his mood. Matthew stomped over to a corner of the garden he'd claimed for himself. A little hide-out between some statues and a wall, where the gardeners didn't bother to uphold it. It was getting a bit more difficult to squeeze back here now that he was no longer a child, but it stayed a nice spot to just.. Forget the world.

Matthew put his head back against the wall, staring up at the sky with a soft sigh. Now that he was alone, his anger was slowly disappearing. He was still... frustrated, of course, but at least here he could pull at weeds instead of breaking something. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm down.

"He's really pushing it to happen soon."

Matthew's eyes snapped open at the voice of that... noble boy, Gillen, who supposedly rescued his brother. He stayed still, trying not to breathe too hard, trying to stay hidden. Who was Gillen talking to..?

"I mean, I get it, clock is ticking, but my god. People might get suspicious. He even put something in his tea, I think."

Gillen and his companion sat down in front of the statues that were hiding Matthew from view. Slowly, carefully, Matthew tried to look past one of the statues to see who it was.

"Yeah, I'm serious. Not poison though, don't worry. Most likely some sort of hypnotic-type stuff to make him like me."

Matthew frowned, unable to see just who the other person was. He slowly tried to lean closer.

"If this was a different story, a kiss from the prince would solve it all. Might even solve this whole... y'know, thing."

It was still impossible to see anything from this angle. Matthew leaned further, and further. He heard Gillen sigh, and someone's back was being patted.

"Thanks, Toni. I guess I just need to trust-"

"TONI?!"

Matthew jumped up out of his hiding spot, earning a yelp from Gillen, who stared at Matthew in shock. Next to him, Toni had jumped up too, though he seemed more surprised than frightened.

"Y-Your highness, I-! Wait..." Gillen frowned a bit in confusion, touching the side of his neck.  ".. You're not Alfred.."

"I'm not." Matthew huffed, staring them both down. "...What were you two talking about? Some sort of attack? I swear, if you came here to hurt my brother, I swear to God-"

Toni cut him off by frantically shaking his head, grabbing Matthew's arm to calm him. He pointed at Gillen, then grabbed his own hand in some sort of handshake. When Matthew seemed confused, Toni repeated the gesture, mouthing a word. 'Friend'.

Matthew frowned. "...Friend? He's your friend? But he... What is going on here, Toni?" He asked as he looked back and forth between them. Toni got ready to gesture that he was going to grab his notebook, but Gillen beat him to it.

"Your highness, it's... complicated. And it will probably sound weird and unbelievable. But please, trust us both on this. My father is behind all this. He-"

Before he could speak another word, there was a sharp sound, like harshly knocking against metal and having it echo painfully in your ears. Gillen clutched his neck, gritting his teeth in pain as Toni worriedly held him upright.

"...What  just.. " Matthew whispered, helping Gillen sit down.  ".. What was  that..? Are you okay?"

"..I... I'm fine. It's... complicated. I can't tell you much without this happening again, so please trust us. After the wedding, don't let Alfred push you away. Don't let him push Toni away. No matter what, don't let my father-"

The sound returned, and Gillen fell forward with a pained yell, clinging to Matthew and muffling his pain in his shoulder. Surprised, Matthew held him as the other shook in pain, as the sound seemed to echo on for longer now. Once it passed, Gillen quickly let go, blushing a bit.

"... I.. Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry about it." Matthew quickly said. The other's neck was a bit red now, as if it had an insect bite. "...Perhaps we need to take you to the court doctor. Kiku might have something for that. We'll say it's an insect bite."

He helped him up, and glanced at Toni. The other gave him a nod as they walked by Gillen's side, slightly supporting him as they walked inside to find Kiku.

The court doctor was perplexed to see such a reaction, but went to grab some sort of numbing cream and a salve to help with what looked like a bad reaction to a mosquito, all while gently promising Gillen the bite would be gone by the wedding.

While Gillen was being treated, Matthew turned to Toni again, pulling him out of the room. Once in a quiet corridor, he sighed and stared his friend in the face.

"Please. Explain to me what's going on."

* * *

The court was bustling with worried talking and  murmuring . Once they had reached the throne room with  Rizada , the porpoise had just started to chatter rapidly to the king. And the look on his face had made everyone uneasy.

Every last servant of the castle was brought to a large council room, so whatever  Rizada had said could be discussed. One of the mermaids acted as a translator for those that didn't speak porpoise.

The king let out a sigh as he looked at his subjects. "My good people. There's news about our prince's whereabouts. Unfortunately, it is worse than we thought.  Rizada will explain."

The porpoise nodded, and began chattering. The translator filled in after every few chatters, her face becoming worried.

"Toni is on the land, with human legs. He is s afe, but he cannot speak. I think the warlock is behind this. The warlock's son is also with him, speaking with Toni's voice. But he is not hurting Toni. He is trying to help him. They told me to tell you that William's flame has to be destroyed. It's the only way to help him."

There was a rumble of discussions from everyone. The king held up a hand, silently asking for them to quiet. 

"It seems we can no longer ignore this issue. William has overstepped this time. My son is stuck on the land, either by force or by a trick. Judging from the fact that William's son is on land too, he must've left the sea too. His hide-out will be heavily guarded, but this might be our one chance to put an end to his tricks. My men and I will make sure of it."

He sighed.

"I nearly dare not ask, but if you are willing to fight, join us."

Some people seemed hesitant, but one by one, people swam forward. Sanne bowed at the king. "I will do my best, sire."

"As will I." Bella mused, joining her sister's side. Others swam forward too.

"And I!"

"Me too!"

Feeling bold, Raj stepped forward too. "I will gladly help." He mused, turning to his friends. "And I think they will too."

"Fuck yeah, we will." Eire grinned, lightly snapping his pinchers. Ivan chuckled a bit, nodding at the king. "We will do what we can."

"We'll try our best, your majesty!" Feliciano beamed, as his brother nodded beside him.

The king smiled at all the eager people. "Thank you, all of you. We leave first thing in the morning.  Captain.. " He turned to the knight captain.

"Prepare for a battle."


	9. Here comes the (unwilling) groom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter incoming!
> 
> Content warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Alcohol use  
> \- Tentacles (octopi and jellyfish)  
> \- People half-drowning

Matthew was staring hard at the notes Toni had written. It was still... difficult to process. Toni had taken him to his room, where he frantically began writing down words on some papers. Matthew barely had time to ask questions, not that he could really pick his jaw off of the ground to do so once he read the words. 

He read them multiple times now, telling Toni he wanted to process this in his room. The words seemed to stare at him. They seemed too weird to be true, but for some reason they were a perfect explanation. He read the notes again. 

'I saved Alfred, I used to be a merman. William is a warlock from the sea. He gave me legs in exchange for my voice, then gave my voice to Gillen. He is trying to make Gillen marry Alfred for power.' 

Matthew had stared at Toni for a long time, confused. "How do we stop this?" He'd asked. Toni had written more words. 

'We can't. William did something to Gillen. You saw it, he was in pain. He will appear to want to marry Alfred. And Alfred has clearly been bewitched. But don't worry. We already asked for help from the sea. My father will try and fix this. Have faith.' 

Matthew stared at those words again. And again. Giving a sigh, he placed the notes aside, rubbing at his face. For some reason, he believed Toni. It just made sense, as hard as it was to believe. But would others believe it too? Would his father, would Alfred? 

Giving a sigh, he flopped back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was quiet for a bit. 'Have faith.' Toni had said. Faith. Such a strange thing, wasn't it? Did he really have faith in this..? 

Well, clearly, he did. Matthew chuckled lightly, rubbing at his face again. "This better work out, Toni. I'm counting on you." 

* * *

** ~The next day~  **

The biggest part of the plan turned out to be "element of surprise". If everyone attacked all at once, there was a big chance that some sort of magic booby trap would be set off. So, there was need for a careful approach. 

The king's scout had returned to what some people referred to as the temporary basecamp. The scout, a grumpy looking pike-like hybrid named Vash, stopped by the king. 

"Your majesty. The cave entrance seems to be protected by a force field, and the warlock's lackies. One keeps at the cave entrance while the other keeps swimming around in case people try to get in through another way." 

The king nodded. "I see. Are there any other entrances?" 

"Non that are big enough, sire. We would need someone small." 

People began glancing around at each other, before many eyes landed on Raj. He took a bit of a step back. "Now hold on a moment." 

"Raj, you're the only one of us who actually shrank. You can sneak in." Ivan said. 

"And what if one of those sharks gets me?! I'd like to stay in one piece, thank you very much." 

"The others will act as a distraction." The king mused. "I will make sure no harm comes to you, Mr. Kumar. The moment things seem to go badly, we will get you out of there." 

Raj bit his lip, conflicted. After a long moment, he sighed, and nodded. 

"Let's get this over with then." 

* * *

The sea was calm today. Toni stared at the water, letting out a sigh. He could hear the sound of guests in the garden, everyone getting ready for the wedding. A wedding he wished was for him. 

He had decided to sit this whole thing out on the dock, unable to bare the sight of the man he grew to love marrying someone else. Someone who didn't even want to, but was bound by a spell. 

Toni had visited Gillen this morning, hoping to at least give his friend a hug, show him a note with 'Everything will be alright' on it. But when he saw Gillen, there was a gleam in his eyes that made Toni quickly turn the other way. William's spell had taken hold of him for today, and Toni would not give William the chance to make his friend tell him cruel things. 

So, he sat here. Alone. With the sound of the sea. Waiting. He didn't really know what he was waiting for, if he was honest. For the wedding to be over? For his father's soldiers to suddenly burst out of the water? For his voice to return? For someone to find and comfort him? 

He buried his face in his knees, hugging his legs to his chest. After a moment, a new sound reached his ears. A shaky, soul crushing sound. His sleeves were getting wet, and it made him realize the sound was coming from him, as he shook with silent sobs. 

A hand on his shoulder made him flinch back with a gasp, looking up at who it was. He had to squint against the sunlight and his own tears to see Matthew there, looking at him with sad sympathy in his eyes. Quickly wiping his tears away, Toni kinda waved a hand at the other, trying to signal that he was fine, really. 

Sadly, or luckily, Matthew saw through it. He sat down next to Toni, pulling him into a hug. For a moment, Toni just froze, then he broke down yet again, clinging to his friend. He shook as he felt Matthew rub his back, stroke his hair. 

"I know... I know... It's going to be alright. I'll stay with you until this is all over, promise." 

A fresh wave of sobs overtook him, and Matthew rocked him through it, gently shushing him. Once he calmed down a bit more, Matthew patted his back a bit. 

"..Wanna talk about it?" 

Toni just shrugged. Matthew stayed quiet for a moment, then sighed. 

"...You know, I really do believe you, if it helps. I may not have known Gillen for long, but the way he gave me a stinkeye this morning told me enough. And Alfred isn't acting like himself at all. He didn't even seem to see me. I mean, it's not too strange, I tend to go a bit invisible, but he looked past me even when I spoke to him." 

Toni sat up a bit, reaching for his notepad and charcoal. 'They're under a spell' 

"Yeah, no kidding." Matthew chuckled lightly. "...I don't suppose you heard anything from the 'rescue crew', huh?" 

Toni smiled a bit, wiping at his eyes and shaking his head. Matthew patted his back. "It'll be alright. You said so yourself. How about this, I'll steal us a plate of pastries and stuff, and we'll have our own party while we wait. Sound good?" 

Silently chuckling, he nodded, hugging Matthew tightly again. 

* * *

Raj peered past the rocks he and his friends were hiding behind. There was indeed an entrance, a thin crack in the cave wall. The only problem was getting to it without being spotted by that shark-tailed lacky. 

"...So, what's the plan?" Eire mused. "We can charge at the guy while you rush to the entrance?" 

"No, no, too risky. We should lead him away and distract him." Ivan said. "Maybe use bait... Lovino, Feliciano, how fast can you run?" 

"Not fast enough to outrun a fucking shark." Lovino hissed. 

"But we can give Raj time, Lovi." Feliciano hushed. "Eire and Ivan will help us if needed. We just need to give Raj enough time." 

"If we get eaten, I'm blaming you." Lovino huffed. "..Fine. Let's do this before I change my mind. Ready, Raj?" 

Raj swallowed a bit, then nodded. "Ready. Go, he's coming this way." 

Feliciano and Lovino nodded, waiting for a moment before hobbling out. They watched the shark-man swim away, then began yelling and jumping up and down. 

"OI! STRONZO!!" 

The shark-man turned around with a snap, red eyes growing wide, as did his sharp smile. "Well, well, well~ What have we here?~" Luciano purred, swimming towards the two. "A pair of little stars?~ How cute~" 

Feliciano trembled a bit, grabbing Lovino's arm for reassurance. Lovino gulped, but stood his ground. "We're not little! And we're not afraid of you!" 

To bring the point home, Lovino reached down and threw sand at the shark-man, hitting him in the eyes. Luciano recoiled with a hiss for a moment, then snarled at the two. 

"Ah, so we're doing it this way? Seems like you two offered yourself up for lunch." 

Taking that as the cue they needed, Feliciano quickly began to sprint away with his brother, a very irritated shark-man on their tails. Ivan and Eire took this as their cue too, rushing after the starfish. 

While Eire took the lead, Ivan picked Raj up and tossed him towards the cave, hissing a quick "good luck" before rushing after the angry predator. 

Raj swam as fast as he could, rushing towards the opening in the cave. He didn't dare look back as he heard his friends scream, before quickly wriggling inside through the large crack. 

The inside of the cave was very dark. At least, Raj was sure it had to be. However, he was seeing pretty well in here. For a moment, this confused him, then he remembered one of the biology lessons he'd overseen with the princes. 

Of all the animals William could've cursed him into, he'd made him into a shrimp with the best vision of the sea. Raj lightly snickered to himself at that, then began to look around. A flame would be a hard thing to miss underwater, especially a magic flame. 

He skittered around the cave a bit, before spotting a large bubble in the corner, on what seemed to be a pedestal. Bingo. Raj rushed towards it, but before he could even get to the pedestal, a voice made him freeze. 

"What do you think you're doing?~" 

* * *

They had a pretty good vantage point of the wedding from here, sitting on the balcony of Matthew's bedroom. Matthew sighed, taking a swig of the wine bottle he'd grabbed on the way of sneaking away with a plate of food. Silently, he offered Toni the bottle too as the vows began. 

At the "Speak or forever hold your silence" segment, Toni had frowned at the ceremony below, mouthing what surely had to be swears. But probably not in any human language. 

Toni took the bottle gratefully, taking a few gulps. He glanced at the sea again, and sighed. Gently, Matthew patted his shoulder, and ate another pastry. But he too began to feel more nervous. 

He hoped whoever Toni's father had sent, would hurry up. 

* * *

Raj backed away as the other lacky swam into the cave. Whatever that forcefield was, it clearly let allies through. The blonde shark-man grinned at him, coming closer. "Ah, it's you~ I remember you~ You're the landprince's little servant~ I still find it hilarious what William turned you into, you're so tiny~" 

Gritting his teeth, Raj tried to look for a way out. He tried to rush one way, only for Flavio to suddenly grab him, squeezing him tightly. The shark-man chuckled. 

"I must say, I'm impressed by how far you made it in here~ My brother really should be more careful. But no matter, I caught you, and now, I think I deserve a little snac-" 

A tentacle suddenly wrapped around his neck out of nowhere, cutting him off with a choke and making him drop his prey. Raj gasped, surprised to see Sanne in the cave, her appendages wrapping around Flavio and squeezing him hard. Looking past her, he noticed how she'd gotten in. 

Her sister had caught Luciano, holding him in her poisonous tentacles at the cave entrance, actively holding the forcefield open a bit with him. Not big enough for a person, but octopi were flexible. Bella grinned at Raj, giving him a little wave before gesturing into the cave. 

"Go! Now! Destroy that thing!" 

Raj grinned and gave a nod, quickly making his way up the pedestal. For a moment, he looked over the bubble, trying to figure out how to do this. He glanced at his pinchers, and smirked. Oh, William really did turn him into the worst thing. 

He hooked his pinchers in the bubble, and squeezed, hard. After a long moment, he broke through. With a loud crack, like shattering glass, the bubble burst. And with it, a shockwave of magic poured out. 

* * *

"...as long as you both shall live?" The priest mused, watching Gillen. 

Toni frowned, staring down at the wedding with pain in his eyes. No, please, no. The long silence was killing him. 

Gillen swallowed, the spell opening his mouth to say the words his father had drilled into him, when he suddenly felt a jolt go through him. It seemed like everyone had felt it, as people began murmuring about a minor earthquake. 

But he knew it was no earthquake. He knew what this was. He felt it in his throat, welling up. Before anyone knew what was going to happen, he doubled over and nearly puked from the force of the magic stone launching out of his throat. 

Gillen straightened himself upright again, lightly wheezing as he watched the magic leave the stone as it cracked, and shoot off towards one of the balconies. He smiled, ignoring the shocked and worried expressions of everyone around him, turning to his father. 

Oh, how he loved the look of horror on his father's face as he threw the bouquet to the ground. 

"I do not." 

"..Excuse me?" The priest sputtered. Gillen grinned wider, looking at both the priest and his own parent. 

"Didn't you hear me, Father? I said no. I do not. This wedding is not for me, I do not want to marry Alfred." 

"What's going on? You.. Your voice.. I.. What just...?" Alfred sputtered. Gillen sighed, taking Alfred's hand for a moment. "Long story. I think we should rather let someone else tell you." 

Before Alfred could ask what he meant, there was a shout from one of the balconies. He looked up to see Toni there, jumping up and down, waving his arms around and laughing. Actually laughing, a loud and beautiful sound. 

"Alfred!! Over here, you absolute idiot! I'm over here!!" 

Alfred's jaw dropped. "Toni?!" 

"Yes! It's me!" There were tears streaming down his face. "Hold on, I'm on my way! Don't move and marry someone else before I get there!" 

Alfred couldn't help but burst out laughing, looking at everyone else. "..W-What the hell is going on..??" He chuckled. Gillen chuckled as well, patting his shoulder. "Something fantastic." 

Before he could ask Gillen to elaborate, Alfred heard someone running up to him, and Toni practically tackled him to the ground. They dropped to the grass with a grunt, and they soon began to laugh again. 

Sitting up, Alfred looked his friend up and down. "Toni, you... You're talking! You.. Were you the one who saved me?" 

"I was!" Toni grinned, hugging him tight. "I should've told you, but you were so set on marrying a voice, and we'd only just met..." 

Alfred got ready to apologize, to tell Toni it was alright, when the guests began screaming and pointing at the water. A few men were rushing towards the dock, throwing ropes into the water and pulling people out. 

Alfred quickly followed his father and his men with Toni to see what the commotion was all about. And when he got there, he recognized one of the men that was being pulled out. 

"Francis!" 

He quickly helped to pull the sailor out of the water, patting his back as the other coughed and wheezed. "Holy shit, Francis, how..." 

"Your highness, there are more!" A woman called as she pulled a familiar redhead onto the dock. Alfred gawked as one by one, his missing crew was pulled out of the water. He rushed over to them, taking some of the blankets people had gathered to wrap his men up. 

"Gibert, Eire... Ivan, how... Feli! Lovi! Holy shit, you're all alive!" 

"A few moments longer, and we wouldn't be." Lovino chuckled, muttering under his breath about a 'fucking shark-bastard'. Alfred just laughed through his relieved tears, looking around at his men. He jumped up at seeing a familiar face framed by black hair, and ran towards him. 

"Raj!!!" 

He nearly knocked his friend back into the water, hugging him as tightly as he could. Raj began to laugh, hugging the prince back. "Hey there, Al." He whispered, patting his back. "You didn't think I'd die that easily, right?~" 

"You ass." Alfred chuckled through his tears. "You scared me. What happened..? How..?" 

"You should thank them over there." Raj mused, pointing at the men and women that were being pulled onto dry ground. Many of them seemed familiar to the people on the land, as there were cries of recognition and tight hugs. "They helped break the spell that bastard William put on us." 

"William?" Alfred echoed, glancing back at William, who had been grabbed by a few of the guards. "...What do you mean, a spell..?" 

"That man was a sea warlock, your highness." Eire piped up. "When the ship sank, William turned us into sea animals. He turned all of these people in sea creatures." 

"But don't worry." Raj grinned. "I extinguished the very flame he used for his magic. Now every one of those horrible transformations he did will soon be reversed." 

"...Including mine, I guess." Toni sighed, smiling sadly. "...But hey, I guess it's worth the price. You all get to go home, so I guess I need to as well." 

"...What do you mean?" Alfred asked, frowning. Toni sighed a bit, looking away when Alfred held him by the arms and lightly shook him. "Toni, what are you talking about..?" 

"I'm a merman, Alfred. I only turned human because William made me into one. Now that his magic's gone.." 

"No!" Alfred held him tight. "No, you can't go! I don't want you to, I.. I love you.." 

Toni chuckled sadly, hugging him back. "I want to stay too, Alfred. I love you too. And.. And I wish I could stay, but I'll have to return, I'm so sorry." 

"You can't go back to the sea, idiot." William suddenly sneered. He rolled his eyes when everyone looked at him in confusion, looking at Toni with disgust in his eyes. 

"You're human. You've always been human." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma leave you with that cliffhanger because I'm evil :3
> 
> One more chapter to go- Or two-


	10. The truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm going to write the finale of this fic! It shouldn't be too long, I mean, most of my chapters are like 3000 words max, so I'm sure it won't-  
> My wordcount: *4093, and not even started on the wedding scene*  
> Me: ......Alright, time to split the final chapter in two- THIS IS FINE Q7Q
> 
> \---
> 
> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Drowning in a bit of a graphic way  
> \- Poetic justice  
> \- Suggested sexy times  
> \- Meeting your biological family can be awkward

**_ You're human. You've always been human. _ **

Toni stared at William in shock. "...What do you mean?" He stepped closer. "Tell me, what do you mean?"

The warlock rolled his eyes, pushing the guards off and stepping closer. "...20 years ago, there was a ship that sunk with a small boy on board. The Carnation."

"The Carnation? That was the Iberian royal vessel." Arthur said, frowning. William gave a nod. 

"Indeed, it was." He looked over at Toni, kind of cupping his face by the chin and squeezing his cheeks. "And I put a spell on that little brat. His name was, and still is, Antonio. Antonio Fernadez Carriedo." He pushed him away.

"Antonio Fernandez Carriedo? But then... My God." Alfred sputtered, taking Toni's hands. "You... Do you know what that means?"

Toni looked at him, confused, and shook his head. "Is it bad?

"Bad?! My dear boy, it is far from it! It's a miracle! You were thought to be dead! Oh, we must write a letter right away. Raj!" Arthur turned to the advisor, who stood at attention. 

"Once you're dried off, we must write a letter to the king of Iberia, and ask him and the crown prince to reschedule our trade meeting as soon as possible! Come!"

"Of course, your majesty." Raj smiled, looking at Alfred and Toni. "..Your highnesses." He bowed, then rushed off with the king.

Toni blinked, looking at Alfred again.  ".. I.. I don't understand. What is going on?"

Alfred chuckled a bit, shaking his head. "It seems we both have a lot to talk about. But let's first help these people get inside and warmed up. And we need to figure out what to do with... him."

They glanced at William, who seemed peeved but defeated. "...You couldn't shame me further. The spell to turn me and my pathetic excuse of a son into a human was permanent, until I had enough power. Whatever you're planning on, it won't be worse than this... prison."

A few people began murmuring about punishments that would fit, when there was the sound of another group of creatures breaking the surface of the water. Toni lit up with joy, ignoring Alfred's yelp of alarm as he jumped into the water to hug his father.

"Father, I... I'm so sorry, I-"

"It's alright, my boy, it's alright." His father held him close, gently rocking him a bit. He pulled back to look him over, smiling gently. "I'm so proud of you."

"Y-You're not mad?" Toni chuckled lightly.

"Oh, I'm furious. But only because I was worried sick about you. And now that I know you're alright, I will be less angry." He stroked his cheek a bit. "Tell me, Toni. Do you love this man?" He mused, gesturing at Alfred.

Toni smiled, nodded. "I.. I do. Very much."

"Then who am I to stop you from that? I will miss you, of course. And I will be needing an heir one day. But my son's happiness is more important than a crown."

He kissed Toni's forehead. "Be happy, my son. And know I will always be there for you."

Toni smiled, glancing back at Alfred, who was clearly flabbergasted. "Alfred, I'd like you to introduce you to my father, king Romulus. Father, this is Alfred."

"I... Wait, did you say king?" Alfred sputtered. He bowed quickly. "Y-Your majesty."

"Please, no need. Just tell me something important, Alfred. Do you love my son? Will you care for him?"

Alfred blinked, looking at Toni. He smiled. "...I do love him, sire. And I will. The best I can."

Romulus smiled. "Wonderful. It is a promise then. Now, for this... problem we shared." He looked at William, who glared back at the king. "...I suppose we'll figure out a punishment for him after a while of thinking. We might just lock him up on a rock. Please bring him here."

William struggled against the guards as they tried to pull him to the water. He hit one in the face with his elbow, trying to make a run for it, only to be yanked back by Gillen grabbing his arm. Before William could say another word, Gillen used the momentum to throw his father off the dock, tossing him into the water, where Romulus's knights grabbed him.

Coughing and struggling, William glared at Gillen. "You little shit!! After all I did for you, you ungrateful brat!! I swear, when I get my hands on you-!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!!" Gillen yelled back, effectively silencing the other. "This is what you deserve! All you did was for your own gain! The only good thing you did was giving me the chance to have a friend here! I want nothing more to do with you!!" He pointed a finger at him, gritting his teeth with anger.

"GO FUCKING DROWN AND GET OUT OF MY LIFE FOREVER!!"

William opened his mouth to yell something back, when something suddenly prevented him from doing so. His eyes bulged as water suddenly streamed from his mouth and nose. Even as he tried to cough the water up, more seemed to return in its place as he struggled to breathe, kicking and yelling through the stream of water. And even as the knights holding him tried to help, William's struggling soon died down, and he slowly sank underwater, unmoving, before dissolving into seafoam.

There was a silence as everyone stared in slight horror. Gillen stared at his own hand in shock. "I... I didn't mean... I..."

"It seems you really did, though." Toni breathed. "...That was... impressive. And I guess that solves that problem."

"..I... I guess it does." Gillen chuckled lightly, still horrified. Toni climbed back out of the water to hug his friend close, rubbing his back as the other clung to him and dissolved into sobs. Glancing at his father, Toni gave him a nod. He watched his father nod back and leave with his knights, before turning to Alfred.

"Let's all get inside and rest. There's a lot that needs to be processed."

* * *

It had been almost a month since the whole wedding fiasco by now. And a lot had changed. Now that the truth was out, it wasn't odd for the staff to find Toni and Alfred going a bit further than courting in the hallways. It certainly wasn't a secret that they would wed within a month or two.

A letter to the Iberian royal family was written and sent, and while the 'surprise' was being kept a secret, the idea that Toni would be meeting his 'real' family soon, most likely today, was... scary. He often sat by the dock to talk with Rizada, or with visiting members of his father's court.

Gillen was still rather shocked that he'd cursed his father to death, but after a bit of pondering and talking with a few of Romulus's scholars who had been studying William's cave after its abandonment, they came to a conclusion.

"I think whatever force was bound to my father, liked me standing up for myself. I mean, it has seen me grow up around him, so it's not too surprising. Really freaked me out through."

"So, can you perform magic now?" Matthew asked as the four of them sat for tea in the garden patio. "I mean, maybe William's patron bound itself to you?"

"Can that happen?" Alfred asked, curious. Toni gave a nod. "I've heard that can happen. Magic and magic sources can be strange. So perhaps."

"I'd rather not have a magic sea energy bound to me, if I'm honest." Gillen chuckled lightly, sipping his tea. "..I think it's gone now. It was already weak by the time the bubble broke. I guess it was the last burst left."

"Shame." Matthew mused as he sipped his tea as well. "I would've liked seeing you perform a... different kind of magic~" He winked.

Gillen nearly spit out his tea as he blushed, and Alfred gasped, frowning and turning red. "Mattie!"

" What?~ " Matthew chuckled, acting innocent. "As if I haven't caught you and Toni being indecent. Little bit of a tip, you and Toni really should remember he's no longer mute."

Toni turned scarlet, getting ready to protest, when Raj came walking over to them. The advisor raised an eyebrow at their flustered states, and chuckled a bit. "I do hope I'm not interrupting a double date here?"

"It's not-!" Alfred began to protest, before shaking his head and composing himself. "What is it, Raj?"

"I just received word that king Ramon and prince Gabriel will be arriving within the hour, your highness. Your father has asked for you and Antonio to meet them in the sitting room with him."

Alfred blinked, glancing at Toni. The other was staring at the ground, clearly hit with nerves. Gently taking the other's hand, Alfred looked at Raj again. "Thank you, Raj. We'll go prepare ourselves."

Raj nodded and gave a bow before leaving again. Matthew let out a sigh, leaning towards his friend a bit. "..Are you going to be okay? I can ask father if Gillen and I are allowed to be there too, if it helps."

Toni just gave a bit of a nod, clutching Alfred's hand. Alfred gently patted his hand, giving his brother and Gillen a small smile as he stood with his fiancé. "Toni and I should go change. We'll see you later, alright?"

"Alright. Good luck, Toni." Gillen mused, taking Toni's hand for a moment before he could walk away with Alfred. He gently squeezed his friend's hand, whispering something in  Atlantian , which made Toni chuckle softly and nod.

Alfred smiled softly, taking Toni to his room so they could get dressed properly for a visiting royal family. But as Alfred was trying to decide which coat to wear, he noticing how nervous Toni was.

Toni had dressed himself in a beautiful red coat, but was messing with his sleeves, kind of pacing back and forth. He only stopped when Alfred gently hugged him from behind, melting into his embrace.

Alfred lightly nuzzled his face into his neck. "What's making you the most nervous now?"

Toni was silent for a bit, before a sigh left him. "...What if they're disappointed?" He eventually whispered.

Alfred smiled lightly, kissing his cheek. "Why would they be?"

"Dunno.. Just.. I don't know."

"That's alright, maybe we can guess and debunk those worries together. Come, let's sit." He sat with him on the bed, holding his hand. "Just tell me the first thing that pops up when you picture them being disappointed."

Toni bit his lip. "...I guess they wouldn't expect a commoner.."

"You're not a commoner though. You were, still are, a prince." Alfred reminded him.

"Yeah, but of the sea. What if they think it's... weird..?" Toni was messing with his sleeves again, but stopped when Alfred gently squeezed his hand.

"Well, it would be surprising, but I'm pretty sure being able to speak another language is a very good trait for a prince. Especially a language not spoken by many humans~" Alfred winked a bit. 

Toni chuckled a bit, shaking his head in amusement. "I guess... I'm still scared though."

"And I don't blame you for that." He pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're allowed to be. And you should be honest about it. If you feel uncomfortable, you can say so. My father and I will not blame you for that, and neither will they, if they wish to be welcome here."

"...You wouldn't kick them out, would you..?" Toni joked lightly. But Alfred looked rather serious. "I will if they make you feel uncomfortable. They may be meeting their lost son and brother, but your comfort is more important."

Toni stared at him in surprise, then suddenly  lurged forward to kiss Alfred hard. Alfred fell back with a bit of a surprised yelp, but kissed back just as passionately. They began to tug at clothing, and they were halfway to getting undressed when Alfred regained the rational braincells that flew out the window during the kiss.

"Toni, hold on, we can't show up to your family looking like we were  just.. You know."

Blushing, Toni pulled back from where he was nuzzling at Alfred's neck, smiling bashfully. "R-Right. Oops." He chuckled, trying to right Alfred's shirt.

Alfred chuckled as well, stroking Toni's cheek and lightly brushing his brown curls away from his face. The other leaned into the touch a bit, then got up with a smile. Alfred did the same, kissing his forehead before going back to trying to choose a coat.

After they got ready, they left for the sitting room, holding  eachother's hand the whole time. Stepping inside, they were met with Matthew and Gillen already there, sitting on a couch together. Toni couldn't help but feel a bit relieved to see his friends. He looked over at Arthur, who stood from his chair at seeing them.

"Alfred." He mused, giving his son a nod when he bowed. "Anto-" He cut himself off at seeing the slight discomfort in Toni's face. "..Toni. I'm glad you two are here. I do apologize for the rather.. Unpredictable visit. We've been ready to welcome the Iberian royal family for 3 days now, but I can imagine you both must be feeling rather nervous."

"Nothing I can't handle, your majesty." Toni smiled, trying to hide his nervousness. Arthur just gave him a reassuring smile. "I am sure of that, but don't overwork yourself, alright?"

Toni just nodded, going to sit on the other couch with Alfred when Arthur gestured them to. For a bit, it was just quiet. A few staff members were walking around for the last few preparations, and Arthur checked his pocket watch.

"They will be here in 10 minutes. Alfred, Matthew, you will accompany me to greet our guests at the door. Let's do this carefully and with kindness."

"Yes, father." Alfred mused, gently squeezing Toni's hand. The other just leaned against him, quiet. It reminded Alfred very much of his muteness from before, and he gently rubbed his thumb along Toni's hand.

They sat there in silence for a bit. Alfred gently waved off the staff that offered them a drink, focused on keeping Toni calm for now. But eventually, Raj stepped into the room.

"Your majesty, they have arrived."

"Ah, right on time. Thank you, Raj." Arthur mused, standing up and nodding at his sons. "Come. Let's go greet our guests."

Alfred gave a nod, kissing Toni's forehead before getting up. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Toni swallowed and nodded, silently showing him his hand, bringing his middle and ring finger down to his palm. Alfred smiled, copying the gesture. "I love you too. I'll be right back."

He kissed his cheek one last time before following his father and brother out the door, to the entrance hall. A carriage had arrived by the door, and servants were carrying two suitcases inside. Alfred watched as his father walked over to greet a man with tanned skin and a bright smile, shaking his hand.

"Ramon, it has been too long. What has it been, 15 years?"

"Almost 20, old friend!" The other king laughed, patting Arthur's shoulder. "Time does fly, doesn't it? Ah, allow me to introduce you to my son, Gabriel."

Ramon turned to the other man that stepped out of the carriage. Alfred has to supress a little gasp of shock, that man really had to be Toni's brother, there was no doubt. Arthur just smiled, shaking Gabriel's hand. "Ah, yes, little Gaby. I remember when you were only reaching my knee."

Gabriel chuckled a bit, shaking his hand. "It is good to see you again, your majesty. Thank you for inviting us here." He then turned to the two princes, bowing at them. "Your highnesses. Thank you for inviting us here."

"Yes, but I do still wonder why this meeting couldn't wait until next month?" Ramon mused. Arthur gave a small chuckle, looking over at his son for a moment. "Why don't we discuss this over tea? There is a lot we need to discuss. Especially something involving your ship, the Carnation."

Ramon blinked, curious. "How so? Have pieces of her finally been found?"

"Well... In a way, yes." Arthur sighed. He quickly continued when the king and prince looked saddened and pained. "No bodies or skeletons, I assure you. But it is a valuable asset that we thought had been lost in the storm. I wish to return it to you. Please, follow me."

They both looked rather confused, but followed Arthur and the princes to the sitting room. But before they could set inside, there was the sound of shattering porcelain and a pained yelp. Arthur frowned and opened the door, trying to see what just happened.

The staff in the room looked up when their king entered, quickly standing up straight. "I do apologize for the noise, but it seems one of the maids fell and dropped a few cups." Raj said when Arthur looked at him.

"She's okay though, don't worry!" Toni called from where he was helping the maid get up from behind the couch. He gently inspected her hands, carefully pulling a few shards out of her skin. "On second thought, perhaps we need to call for Kiku, there are few deep cuts on her hands."

He turned to look at Raj, only to spot the people who walked into the room, and he froze into place. The two people he was going to meet stared at him in confusion, then froze too.

Alfred cleared his throat a bit, walking over with his brother to stand by Toni. "How about we.. ah... get this cleaned up, and then we can talk." He mused. Matthew nodded, gesturing for the other staff to bring the maid to Kiku, and to clean the porcelain shards. 

Ramon and Gabriel were still staring at Toni in shock. Slowly, Ramon covered his mouth with his hand, looking close to tears. "Antonio...Oh, Toño... Mijo.." He whispered, clearly overjoyed. Gabriel just seemed shocked. Happy, but still very shocked.

Toni swallowed. His legs were shaking a bit as he looked at the two people in front of him. It was obvious they were related to  him, the resemblance was uncanny. But there was still a distance between them, 20 years of no contact.

The king seemed to want to rush over and hold him, but the prince held him back with a raised hand at seeing Toni flinch. The crown prince's eyes softened as he looked at his younger brother for a moment.

"...Perhaps we should take this slow, father. We can't expect him to see us as family right away after all these years."

Toni just gave a nod in agreement, sort of relieved. He kind of gestured at the seats nearby. "..We can sit. Talk. Something like that." He stumbled over his words a bit, kind of wishing he was mute again. His brother gave a nod, smiling gently. "That would be nice."

They all sat down, a silence settling again. Ramon still hadn't taken his eyes off of Toni, who squirmed a bit under his gaze. Gabriel was the first to speak up again.

"I must confess, this kind of feels like a dream."

Toni chuckled lightly, nodding. " Yeah.. Yeah, it does, doesn't it? I'm still expecting it to be." He messed with his sleeve a bit. "...I do hope I don't disappoint."

"Disappoint..?" Ramon let out a little laugh, still looking close to tears. "Why would we be? I.. We're just so happy to see you, alive, here with us!  How.. Where... All these  years.. "

Toni swallowed and nodded. "I can imagine you have many questions about that. I... I don't remember much, but after the ship sank, I survived, and was found by someone. A community, actually. They raised me as their own, and..." He fell silent, and sighed. "No, I shouldn't try and beat around the bush now...The truth is actually very complicated, and I will explain everything. All I ask is that you keep an open mind."

They frowned in confusion, looking at Arthur for input, who just nodded. Cautiously, they gave a nod at Toni. Clearing his throat and grasping Alfred's hand, Toni began to explain. How Romulus found him, how he raised him as a merfolk prince, and how Toni eventually asked William to turn him into a human. 

As he did, he watched their eyes grow wider and wider, their brows furrowing. Ramon eventually frowned in confusion. "...That... You can't expect me to believe that, Antonio. Merfolk? Really? A warlock of the sea? Come on, this is no time for fairytales."

"If you don't believe Toni, believe us, your majesty. We've all seen it." Alfred said, raising his  chin a bit. "We have no reason to lie to you about this."

"But merfolk? Do you really expect us to believe in such a thing?" Ramon asked, still conflicted. Gabriel hummed a bit, thinking. "It does sound rather... fantastical. But even if they're not lying, I'd love to meet the man who raised Antonio. Wouldn't you, father?"

Ramon seemed to think it over, before sighing. "I suppose." He looked at Toni again. "...Is that possible?"

Toni lit up and nodded, smiling a bit. "Of course. I'm not sure if he has time for a visit today, but we can try if you wish. Either way, you will meet him at the wedding. That is, if you want to attend it."

".. Wedding?" Gabriel echoed, before looking at how Toni's hand was still intertwined with Alfred's. "Ah, I see. Well, today certainly is full of surprises. You should spread out the good news a bit, Toño. You're going to give father a heart attack at this rate~"

Toni chuckled a bit, giving Alfred's hand a little squeeze. Arthur smiled. "I do hope you forgive me for keeping this whole thing a surprise." He mused. "But I'm sure you would've never believed me if I told you we found your missing son, Ramon."

"No, I don't think I would've." Ramon chuckled lightly, looking at Toni. "I still find it difficult to believe, if I'm honest. I mean... 20 years we believed Antonio to be dead, and now..."

"I am still in disbelief myself too." Toni sighed, giving a bit of a smile. "...My father, Romulus, he was honest about the fact that he adopted me. When I was young, I longed for the parents I never remembered, until I just accepted that they were most likely dead. To meet you is... strange. But I do want to get to know you again. No matter how long it takes."

Ramon looked ready to go over to hug him again, but hesitated. Seeing this, Toni stood and went over himself, hugging the other. He felt the man freeze up a bit, then he was hugged back, rather closely, while his hair was stroked. Deep down inside, a voice was yelling at him that a stranger was holding him, but he ignored it for now, a feeling of relief overpowering it.

He eventually pulled back from the hug a bit, giving his father a gentle smile, before turning to his brother. Before Gabriel could say a word, or tell Toni he didn't have to push his own boundaries, Toni had pulled him into the hug too, rather tightly. For a moment, they all just silently hugged. Toni shivered a bit when Gabriel rubbed his back, hiding his face in his father's shoulder.

Arthur silently watched everything happen, smiling fondly. "Toni? Are you okay being alone with them to catch up?" he asked, watching the other just cling to his family. Getting a small nod, he smiled and stood. "Alright. You know who to call if you need anything."

Toni just nodded again, and Arthur quietly gestured at the others to leave the room with him. Alfred hesitated, but looked at Gillen when he patted his arm. "He'll be fine." He  smiled, his arm hooked with Matthew. "Don't worry."

Alfred swallowed, glancing back at Toni for a moment. He then nodded, following his family out the room. He closed the door behind him with a sigh, still a bit nervous. Arthur smiled gently, patting his shoulder. Alfred copied the smile a bit, and let out a breath. They were right, Toni would be fine, he shouldn't stress so much about this right now.

Besides, they did have to put two extra guests on the wedding list now. 


	11. Catching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws confetti around* It's the traditional wedding chapter~
> 
> Warnings for this chapter:  
> \- Discussed child illness

He'd been talking with his biological family for the past few hours about all sorts of things, all while walking through the garden. Both Ramon and Gabriel had been very curious about his life under water, how the politics were, and how he grew up. Toni had many questions too, about how Gabriel was raised in the Iberian palace, how the country was run, and about Iberia itself.

They had all learned many things about each other. Toni learned his older brother was a skilled swordsman, but also how he secretly raised a rooster in his room when he was 10, because he didn't want the poor bird to be killed. They had laughed about that, and Toni told them about how he found  Rizada in a fishing net and freed the juvenile porpoise. Ramon had burst into  laugher at the name, and explained once the chuckles had gone away.

"There was this old palace dog you used to toddle after when you could just walk, one with very curly fur. I don't exactly remember what she was called, but you were always babbling 'Rizada' at her. It means 'curly'."

Toni chuckled as well, shaking his head in amusement. "Well, what are the odds?" He mused, before his smile dropped a bit. "...I wish I could remember that."

Gabriel patted his back as they sat down on a bench for a bit. "We don't blame you for not remembering."

"I just wish I did. I wish I..." He glanced at Ramon. "...I hope I'm not overstepping by asking,  but.. what was my mother  like..? "

"You're not overstepping at all." Ramon assured him, though there was sadness in his eyes. "Your mother was... Well, she was a very direct woman. Not afraid to speak her mind and take charge of a situation. Isabel could walk into a room and quiet everyone with but a look. And she adored you and Gabriel both. That's why she was so set on sailing out with you, Antonio. You got rather sick."

"Sick? Sick with what?"

"Nobody really knew. You had harsh fevers that were hard to control. The doctor at court had never seen anything like it in children. So, he suggested us to call for a specialized doctor from one of our colonies. Your mother knew that a letter and a ship back here would be too slow, so she insisted on traveling with you. I let her, but the Carnation never returned. A storm had claimed her, leaving no survivors."

"Or so we thought." Gabriel mused. Toni fidgeted with his sleeves a bit, nodding along with the story. "I sort of remember that. Romulus gave me many potions to help with it. Eventually it just stopped. Perhaps it was the salt water, or whatever seaweed  proteïns were in the potions."

"The important thing is that you're still alive." Ramon said, gently smiling. "And we would love to meet the people who you grew up with."

"Right!" Toni smiled, glad to change the topic, even though he was the one who prompted it. He stood. "Come, let's go see them then."

* * *

Romulus was having quite the quiet day. There weren't any problems he had to solve, the court was calmly going about their business, and all seemed well. At least, for now. He was just sitting back in his throne to relax, when there was the excited squeaking of a certain porpoise.

_ "Your majesty, your majesty!" _

Rizada rushed over to the throne, excitingly swimming back and forth.  _ "It's Toni! He wants you to meet someone! Two someones, actually! Come, come!" _

Romulus let out a bit of a chuckle, getting off the throne. "Alright, alright, settle down. I'm coming." He mused, following the excited porpoise. Two of his guards followed close behind, clearly amused beneath their forced stoic expressions.

After a while of swimming, they reached the palace waters, and breached the surface.  Rizada happily swam over the dock, squeaking loudly as she nuzzled into Toni's pets. Romulus chuckled a bit at the sight. His boy looked a lot better, much happier. He was glad Toni was so very happy here, especially with that human prince.

His gaze then turned to the two humans who were standing near his son, and he noticed how fancy they looked. They also looked rather similar to Toni, which made Romulus's heart clench for a moment. They had to be Toni's family, right? He had actually found them.

Toni suddenly seemed to notice him, and happily waved him over with a giant grin on his face. Unable to stop himself from copying that smile, Romulus swam over to the dock and held out his arms to hug his son tight.

"It is good to see you in good health, my boy. I missed you"

"I missed you too, father. I'd like to introduce you to a few people." Toni mused as he pulled away. He gestured at the two men who stood there, their eyes wide. "This is prince Gabriel, my brother. And this is king Ramon, my biological father. Both of you, this is my father, king Romulus. He raised me."

Romulus looked at them, giving them a friendly nod. "A pleasure to meet you." He mused. The two men still seemed rather flabbergasted, clearly spotting his tail beneath the water. It was the younger man, Gabriel, who broke the stupor first to step forward and hold out his hand. 

"The pleasure is all mine. It is very good to meet you, your majesty."

For a moment, Romulus stared at the prince's hand in confusion, unsure what this was. Toni chuckled a bit, leaning over. "You shake it with your own hand, father. It's a human greeting."

"Ah, I see." Romulus grabbed Gabriel's hand, shaking it from side to side for a moment. This was probably not right, seeing how Toni and Gabriel both began to chuckle in amusement. He smiled. 

"It seems we have lots to talk about, don't we?"

* * *

~A month later~

Gillen smiled as he fixed the veil for his friend, looking at him through the mirror. Toni was fidgeting, smiling nervously as he looked himself up and down.

"{ Atlantian } Nervous, huh?" Gillen mused, lightly rubbing his shoulders. Toni chuckled lightly, letting out a sign. "{ Atlantian } It's that obvious, huh?"

"Only a little bit." Gillen teased, stepping back for a moment. "You look amazing."

"You do too." Toni mused. "Are you not nervous?"

"Oh, I am. But I learn to mask that a bit better than you." Gillen chuckled, smoothing out his own coat.  ".. I still cannot believe this is happening. You don't think it's too soon, right?"

"Gil, I was ready to jump Alfred after a week, you've known Matthew for 2 months by now. If anything, we're both going very fast." Toni mused, turning to his friend to help him with the flowers in his braid.

They were both thankful for this moment of calmness. Toni had sent away the servants that had been hovering around them, assuring the lot of them that they would be fine. He even made up a story about an  Atlantian tradition, of the soon-to-be bride or groom taking a moment to be calm and do a personal ritual before the ceremony.

Gillen closed his eyes as Toni fixed the braid, smiling and relaxing a bit. He looked over at him when the touch disappeared, giving his friend a smile before pulling him into a brief hug. For a moment, they pressed their cheeks together, humming a soft tone. A brief moment of comforting  each other in a familiar way. Gillen eventually pulled back, smiling.

"Ready..?"

"I think so. Let's go."

Together, they walked out of the room. Ramon and Arthur were waiting for them down the hallway, and smiled upon seeing them. Arthur gently took Gillen's arm, being his escort to the altar. Ramon held out his hand to Toni, which the other took with a smile.

The four of them walked to the garden dock, where the ceremony would take place. The human half of the attendants would be sitting on the dock, while the merfolk part had front row seats in the water. Toni took Gillen's hand as they came closer, hearing the music already. Gillen gently squeezed his hand back, just as nervous. But they both couldn't help but smile at seeing their grooms.

Alfred and Matthew stood there at the end of the dock, both dressed in beautiful suits. Alfred was dressed in gold and green, while Matthew was silver and blue. Both brothers seemed in awe at their brides, their eyes filled with emotion as their respective brides were given to them.

Arthur gently patted Gillen on the shoulder before giving his hand to Matthew, while Ramon pressed a kiss to Toni's forehead, gently interlacing his son's hand with Alfred's.

Toni smiled at Ramon as he stepped back, then glanced at Romulus. His father smiled back at him, clutching his fists before his heart in a cross, before holding his hands out to him. Toni copied the gesture, before taking Alfred's hands again.

Alfred was smiling brightly at him, and Toni couldn't help but giggle at how there were tears in his eyes. He reached up and wiped them away, mouthing 'Don't cry' before kissing his knuckles.

The ceremony seemed to go by in a blur, even for something as big as a double wedding. It wasn't until he heard Alfred and Matthew muse out an overjoyed "I do" that Toni realized it was his turn to speak soon. He glanced at Gillen and nodded, before he smiled up at Alfred, gently squeezing his hands. Gillen did the same with Matthew, before they spoke in unison.

"{ Atlantian } _Until after the tides stop their journey forever, until after the last song is sung, and until the waters of our home dry up and this world stops turning_." They mused, before switching back to English.

"I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *flops down* That's all folks! I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
